Flutie Makes USFL Debut Today Heisman Trophy Winner Faces Stallions at Birmingham

When Doug Flutie signed his $7 million contract with New Jerseys three weeks ago, he was asked how long it would take him to become the Generals’ starting quarterback.

“How can I be the starter when I don’t even know how to call the plays in the huddle?” said Flutie.

Ready or not, the Heisman Trophy winner from Boston College will be calling the plays in the huddle today, when the Generals open their United States Football league season against the Birmingham Stallions at Legion Field (11:30 a.m. PST, Ch. 7). He inherited the job the day after he signed when $800,000-a-year incumbent Brian Sipe was traded to the Jacksonville Bulls.

But both coaches in today’s game believe that despite just two weeks of practice and one exhibition game behind him, the 5-foot-9- 3/4 Flutie is ready to put on a show.

“With any player, you always ask ‘When is he going to be ready?”’ said the Generals’ Walt Michaels. “Flutie is not any player.”

“Normally, I’d say, ‘Yeah, I’d love to see a rookie at quarterback.’ But in this case, I’m not sure,” said Birmingham’s Rollie Dotsch.

Flutie will be calling the signals for a team that’s otherwise not too different from last season’s 14-4 squad that lost in the first-round of the playoffs to the then-Philadelphia Stars.

It’s a typically conservative Michaels team--one that hopes to depend on Herschel Walker’s running as much as Flutie’s passing, and a defense built around veterans like linebackers Jim LeClair and Bobby Leopold and cornerback Kerry Justin.

Birmingham was also 14-4 last season, tied with Tampa Bay for first place in the Southern Division and a loser to the same Philadelphia team in the Eastern Conference title game. With the league reduced from 18 to 14 teams this season, both the Generals and Birmingham are in the seven-team Eastern Conference along with the Stars, who have now moved to Baltimore.

The Stallions depend on a trio of National Football League veterans--quarterback Cliff Stoudt, running back Joe Cribbs and wide receiver Jim Smith. Stoudt was the USFL’s second-ranked passer last year and Cribbs led the league in rushing with 1,467 yards in 297 carries.

They also have an interesting newcomer in 31-year-old ex-Miami Dolphin defensive end Don Reese, who has been out of football for four yers after serving prison time for drug offense.

But most of the attention will be on Flutie--that’s why ABC has chosen the game for its opening national telecast. He played for the first time last week in a 24-10 exhibition victory over Orlando, completing seven of 18 passes for 174 yards with two interceptions. Afterward, he gave himself a C-plus.

This week, the Generals expect Birmingham to vary its defenses continually in an attempt to confuse Flutie. “We expect to see everything--a different defense on each play,” said Chris Palmer, the team’s offensive coordinator.

Dotsch, who compares Flutie to former NFL star Fran Tarkenton, acknowledges that his team will do some special things on defense to control his scrambling.

“I have a lot of respect for Doug Flutie and I know he will be high as a kite for this game,” Dotsch said.

“Flutie has the running ability, like Fran, and he has the intangibles. I worry more about a scrambler than a pure drop-back passer,” he said.

Dotsch actually may see more of Walker than Flutie since Michaels said the Generals may end up running twice as much as they pass. The USFL’s big catch two years ago, Walker gained 1,393 yards despite injury troubles last year and teams with fullback Maurice Carthon (1,042 yards) in a double-threat backfield.