Kurt Warner is the poster boy for those league officials who cling to the vision of American football going global. But, truth be told, the St. Louis Rams' quarterback, the most celebrated alum of the NFL Europe league, certainly isn't the model for most players who venture overseas every spring to ply their trade.

The springtime league, despite some success in developing quarterbacks, isn't about winning a pair of NFL Most Valuable Player awards, starting in two Super Bowls, earning more than $6 million annually, or shattering passing records while playing in a high-tech, explosive offense.

Instead, what NFLE offers is the promise of playing time, a chance to develop a videotape resume, a shot at catching someone's eye and perhaps earning a regular-season roster spot as a role player or spare part. It's about opportunity, a first-time forum for some and a court of last resort for others, and about possibly extending the dream one more season.

"It's about survival," said Anthony White, the starting tailback for the Berlin Thunder, and a player allocated to NFLE by the Arizona Cardinals this spring. "You just want to do well enough to have the chance to go to an NFL training camp, work hard, impress the coaches, and earn a paycheck for a year. That's the reality of it. There aren't going to be a lot of Kurt Warner-type guys, you know? But every team has roster openings and playing (in NFL Europe) is one means to that end."

For the most part, White's assessment of NFL Europe's place in the big picture is right on target. Beyond the public relations, marketing and licensing benefits, the NFL subsidizes the springtime league, not so much because it hopes to unearth a Kurt Warner every year, but because it provides a proving ground of sorts for the interchangeable 10-12 players at the bottom of every roster.

Personnel directors who pore over game film from NFLE aren't necessarily looking for diamonds in the rough as much as they are serviceable gemstones. And every year, it seems, NFLE supplies a dozen or so prospects who can earn paychecks as a club's No. 5 wide receiver, third-string quarterback, or special teams kamikaze.

White, 25, could be such a player, although his opportunity should be enhanced by the Cardinals' search for a competent backup tailback. After starter Thomas Jones, the club's 2000 first-round draft choice but a disappointment in each of his first two seasons, there isn't a tailback on the roster with even a single carry in an NFL regular-season game.

Fact is, there isn't even a backup tailback on the roster who has ever been drafted, the four players behind Jones on the depth-less chart all having entered the NFL as undrafted college free agents. In such an environment, White might have a chance to do more than simply cling to a final roster spot as if it were a piece of driftwood.

If he succeeds, the former Kentucky standout will be the first to credit the NFL Europe league for providing him a chance, and his own perseverance for getting him through.

White was actually released by Berlin before the start of the NFLE season, and re-signed only when injuries left the Thunder thin at the position. Rejection is a part of his NFL background, having been released by the Oakland Raiders in 2000 and the St. Louis Rams last summer.

Despite his late arrival overseas, White finished among NFLE's top 10 performers in touchdowns (six), rushing yards (525), receptions (38), receiving yards (370) and total yards from scrimmage (895). He makes no pretense, though, about where he figures he fits with an NFL team.

"I just want a job and I'll do whatever they ask me to do," he said.

That seems to be the basic attitude of most of the NFLE players, who realize an ascent like Warner's is probably once-in-a-lifetime stuff. Wide receiver Dane Looker, the top receiver in NFLE and a player allocated by the Rams, is looking forward to catching passes from Warner in camp but has to realize it will be difficult to snag a roster spot.

One of the primary differences in NFLE this season is that so many players were allocated by NFL teams, there are few free agents left to sign for training camp. Eleven of the top 12 performers in touchdowns scored were allocated, as were 18 of the top 20 receivers, all of the top eight quarterbacks, and nine of the leading 10 rushers.

A few free agents from NFLE -- safety Rashidi Barnes (with Dallas), defensive tackle Pernell Davis (Cincinnati) and cornerback Brandon Godsey (Kansas City) -- have signed camp contracts. Most of the NFLE players, though, will return to the teams that allocated them to the springtime league for more seasoning.

Here's a look at a dozen more NFL Europe players who could make an NFL regular-season roster this year: