NFL Players Association Shows off Rookies at Premiere League Flag Football Game

The NFL was back in Los Angeles (sort of) this past weekend when the Players Association brought a crop of 36 rookies—including top draftees like Cam Newton, Von Miller, Blaine Gabbert and Jake Locker—to the North Athletic Field at UCLA to show off the gems of the 2011 NFL draft at the Premiere League Flag Football Game.

The event was but one part of a jam-packed NFLPA Rookie Premiere weekend that began on Thursday at the LA Memorial Coliseum with a rookie card photo shoot for Topps and Panini America and concluded on Saturday evening with a billiards tournament in Hollywood.

Fans came out in droves to see the recent draftees in their team jerseys, though none of them actually partook in the game on hand.

Instead, while the rookies went around signing autographs and talking to attendees, two teams comprised of former players and celebrities—the Comebacks and the Throwbacks—put on a show with flags flying from their hips.

Introducing the Comebacks

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LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 20: Donald Faison plays at the NFL PLAYERS Premiere League Flag Football Game at UCLA on May 20, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)

Dressed in black were the "Comebacks," led by "coach" and Pro Bowl running back Maurice Jones-Drew of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

MJD had a solid lineup to work with, starting with three-time Super Bowl champ Roger Craig along with former "Bachelor" contestant and New York Giants quarterback Jesse Palmer.

The Comebacks also featured some fairly athletic celebrities, including Donald Faison of "Scrubs" and "Remember the Titans" fame as well as Hill Harper of "CSI:NY" and Michael Rapaport of "Prison Break."

Other Comebacks participants included television actor Brandon Molale and former NFL wideout Matthew Hatchette.

Introducing the Throwbacks

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LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 20: Matthew Hatchette plays at the NFL PLAYERS Premiere League Flag Football Game at UCLA on May 20, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)

Adorned in red were the "Throwbacks," coached by Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon.

Now, Moon's team wasn't all that much younger or more nimble than MJD's, though he did have former NFL MVP and two-time Super Bowl champ Terrell Davis and Pro Bowl quarterback Steve Bono at his disposal.

The Throwbacks also featured current NFL linebacker Ryan Nece, the son of Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, former league wideout Curtis Conway and former running back Mazio Royster alongside radio personality "Psycho" Mike Catherwood and former NBA player Bryon Russell, who provided the team with a tall receiver to catch some "jump balls" in the end zone.

Thoughts Coming into the Game

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DETROIT - FEBRUARY 05: Former Denver Broncos running bacl and MVP of Super Bowl XXXII Terrell Davis is introduced prior to Super Bowl XL between the Seattle Seahawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Ford Field on February 5, 2006 in Detroit, Michigan. (Ph

Certainly, there was plenty of buzz among the players and fans about this one, though perhaps Terrell Davis summed up best the attitude of those taking part in the game.

As TD put it, "I’m just trying not to get hurt out here. I’m an old dude and back in the day when I was a young little puppy, I could do some damage out here, but right now, we’ll see man. I’m going to put on a pretty good performance though."

Ironically enough, it was the old guys who would be putting on the show for the fans, as none of the rookies participated in the game itself.

Said Davis about the lack of playing time for the young guns, "They’re not playing today, but it’s good to see them."

Throwbacks Pull out the Win, 44-34

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LOS ANGELES, CA - MAY 20: The 'Throwbacks' attend the the NFL PLAYERS Premiere League Flag Football Game at UCLA on May 20, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)

The game turned out to be a high-scoring affair (big surprise), with the Throwbacks emerging victorious, 44-34.

The Comebacks nearly lived up to their name, closing to within three points after being down big early in the game before the Throwbacks sealed the win with a touchdown pass from Steve Bono to Bryon Russell to round out the final score.

Terrell Davis earned game MVP honors, though it seemed unlikely that he would hold the trophy in quite as high esteem as his Super Bowl MVP award.

Warren Moon on the Victory

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NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 27: Pro Football Hall of Fame member Warren Moon attends the Bud Light 'Best Round Ever' Pre-Draft Party on April 27, 2011 in New York City. Bud Light, the new official beer of the NFL, offered fans $10 million if they could correctl

After the game, Throwbacks coach Warren Moon took the time to break down his team's thrilling win.

"We were going to try and slow the game down just because we only had a limited number of players, so we didn’t want to rush things too much, try and limit the opportunities that the other team got, and just try to survive," said a stern but happy Moon. "We lost two players early to hamstring and calf injuries, so we were down in numbers, so it made it tough on us."

In describing the flow of the game, during which the Comebacks nearly, well, came back, Moon said, "We jumped out to a big lead, those guys got hurt and some of our guys got tired, so it was just a matter of those guys gutting it out. Those guys that were healthy raised their level of play and gutted it out and made it all the way through."

So, with all those injuries, did Warren Moon ever consider suiting up and giving it a go as a player-coach?

"I did. I really did a couple times and I was getting close. If we would have lost one more guy, I definitely would have went out there, but Steve Bono did a great job quarterbacking for us and kept us in the game with some nice big plays, so I’m sure the fans had a good time seeing all these former players as well as all this new talent coming in."