This Hoopfester Could Be Menace In Blocking Foes

Shane Doyle will play this morning at 8:30. He’d been hoping for a 10:30 game.

Not on the corner of Sprague and Monroe. In Dusseldorf.

But the Amsterdam Admirals’ losses - six of them during the recent NFL Europe season - have become Twine Time’s gain. Doyle’s old Shadle Park High School buddies saved him a spot on their Hoopfest roster, and if he can somehow reconcile jet lag and football muscle memory maybe he can share in another championship in one of the many men’s rec brackets.

OK, so maybe it’s not the World Bowl, which Barcelona and Frankfurt will settle this morning.

In this part of the world, it’s infinitely bigger.

In his Washington State football playing days, Doyle’s turn-around time for Hoopfest was substantially longer. But when he was cut by the Buffalo Bills during training camp last summer, Doyle’s football career took a hard right - over the ocean, to Amsterdam.

They play April to June overseas in the NFL’s continental satellite - a combination developmental league and career life raft that turned out to be a perfect fit for Shane Doyle.

“It was a great experience for me,” said Doyle. “It was a chance to get better and at the same time maybe impress an NFL team and maybe get another chance to play at that level - and I think I did that.”

It stands to reason. Playing strong-side defensive end, Doyle finished second in quarterback sacks with 6-1/2 over the 10-game NFL Europe schedule. He led the Admirals in forced fumbles, was fourth in tackles and even managed an interception.

Not that any of those statistics matter to NFL people.

The number they’ll obsess over is 265.

That’s how much Doyle weighs, and in the square peg-square hole mindset of the NFL, it’s not enough.

“My agent was talking to Detroit and they’re interested, but they wish I was a little bigger,” said Doyle. “They want me at 280 and that’s just not going to happen this year.

“I know 265 is a little light for a defensive end, but some teams like my first step and my quickness upfield. On third downs and in passing situations, that’s not a bad thing to have on your team. It’s my strength and that’s what I have to utilize this year.”

And if nothing else, NFL Europe helped Doyle decide just that.

It all started with a conversation with his agent - his former agent. Told by Buffalo that the Bills were afraid he wouldn’t be able to keep his weight up, Doyle’s agent suggested he lose weight and try to play linebacker.

Then Admirals coach Al Luginbill called. Told that Doyle was retooling himself into a linebacker, Luginbill balked. We want him as a defensive end, he said. We’ve got plenty of guys to play linebacker.

“And I got to thinking, what if nobody calls me to play linebacker?” Doyle recalled. “I’d be blowing an opportunity to continue my football career and play and have fun. I’m looking at a free trip to Europe. So I called him back and told him I’d love to do it and they made me their No. 1 draft pick.”

And, subsequently, Doyle found himself new agents - Paul Sheehy and Warren Schmidt of ProStar.

If you pressed Doyle to grade his European experience, he’d probably give it a C.

He enjoyed the opportunity to sample a different culture - but he missed the convenience of dashing out to the burger joint down the street. More travel would have been nice, but the practice schedule conspired against it. He enjoyed playing with a pair of Rose Bowl teammates - defensive back Ray Jackson and wide receiver Shawn McWashington - but wished he could have duplicated the success of his senior year.

“I had to look at it as a business trip,” he said. “Every practice, every game was a chance to work toward the goal of making the NFL. I wasn’t supposed to be on vacation.”

Alas, business wasn’t always good. After a 2-2 start, the Admirals lost four straight to take themselves out of the playoffs.

“I thought that might hurt me,” he said, “but the NFL coaches and personnel directors watch everybody. It ends up being like a tryout camp almost - the record really means nothing.”

And now he waits.

His agents told him he could sign with Denver as early as Monday, but they’re also waiting to hear from San Diego general manager Bobby Beathard.

“If they want me, I’d really like to go with the Chargers,” said Doyle. “But where I go isn’t as important as getting with the right team.

“The one thing I’m not going to do this summer is go into camp questioning myself - am I big enough or strong enough or can I handle the mental stress? This time, I’m a heck of a lot more confident.”

He can’t say the same on the eve of Hoopfest.

“I haven’t shot a basketball in 3-1/2 months,” he said, laughing. “It might not be pretty.”

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