Welcome to the 3rd annual Philly Pressbox Radio Roundtable Hall of Fame voting ballot.
As a review in 2014 we elected the following players. Chuck Bednarik, Steve VanBuren and Reggie White of the Eagles. Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton and Robin Roberts of the Phillies. Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent of the Flyers and Wilt Chamberlain and Julius “Dr J” Erving of the 76ers.
In 2015 we allowed the fans to select the top 3 by voting. Each fan could vote for 5 plauyers with the top 3 being inducted. Jim “Chet” Chesko and Bill Furman each selected one player. The fans selected Brian Dawkins, Richie Ashburn and Bill Barber while Chet selected Smokin Joe Frazier and Bill selected Pete Pihos.
We have added 5 new players to the ballot to combine with the 11 holdovers. Your job is to select 5 from the list. The ballot will close before next weeks show where we will announce our 5 new members.
So far the fans and the Philly Pressbox Radio staff have gotten it right. Lets see how 2016 goes.
In June of 2014 Jim “Chet” Chesko and Bill Furman along with the listeners of Philly Pressbox Radio selected the first ever Philly Pressbox Hall of Fame class. There were 21 Philadelphia athletes, all members of their respective Hall of Fame, that were put on the ballot, of that 10 were selected. They were Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts of the Phillies, Wilt Chamberlain and Julius “Dr J” Erving of the 76ers, Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent of the Flyers and Chuck Bednarik, Steve Van Buren and Reggie White of the Eagles.
The remaining 11 from that ballot were carried over to 2015 and we’ve added 5 more names to the list. Of the 16 on the 2015 ballot the fans will vote to pick 3, Chet will pick one and Bill will pick one for a total of 5 to complete the class. Each person can make a maximum of 5 picks since this list is so tough.
The voting will be open until Wednesday June 17 with the results announced during the Philly Pressbox Radio Roundtable show at 7pm Eastern time on June 17.
The October 8, 2006 Philadelphia Eagles vs Dallas Cowboys game at The Linc was dubbed the T.O. Game. It marked the return of Terrell Owens. It later became known as the Lito Sheppard game after Lito ran an interception back 102 yards for the final touchdown in the Eagles 38-24 victory. The Eagles trailed in that game 21-17 at the half but Donovan McNabb threw an 87 yard TD pass in the 3rd quarter and a 40 yarder in the 4th quarter that proved to be the game winner. Can you name the two players that caught the 2nd half TD’s?
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While listening to opinions and fielding questions in regards to our present poll we’re conducting in our article “What Philly Non Hall of Famer has meant the most to the City” The link follows: https://phillypressbox.wordpress.com/2013/06/30/which-philly-non-hall-of-famer-has-meant-the-most-to-the-city/ there was great support for a couple of Eagles QB’s. Most surprising to us is that Ron Jaworski received a bunch of immediate support and received a handful of early votes. Not long after the Donovan McNabb supports came out. One voter went so far as to say “there shouldn’t even be a poll there’s no one close to what McNabb did in this city”.
This conversation led the boys to get back together over a few beverages and a BBQ to discuss the subject and we want to give you a chance to vote again.
From 1977-2009 there have been 386 Philadelphia Eagles regular season football games started by Ron Jaworski, 137, Randall Cunningham, 107 and Donovan McNabb, 142 at the QB position.
Here are some facts and stats to help you decide which of the three is your favorite Eagles QB covering over 30 years of Eagles football.
Ron Jaworski – “The Polish Rifle”
Jaworski was traded to the Eagles and thrived under coach Dick Vermeil and led the offense in the rebuilding process that lead to the Super Bowl following the 1980 season and Jaws only trip to the Pro Bowl.
Jaws overall record with the Eagles was 69-67-1. He threw for 26,963 yards, 175 TD’s and 151 interceptions. He was at the helm as the Eagles made 4 consecutive years of playoff appearances recording a 3-4 record winning one NFC Championship.
He never led the league in any category except getting sacked. He led the league in that in 1977, 1982 and 1983 with 47, 31 and 53. The man took a beating!!
After his retirement following the 1989 season Jaws settled in South Jersey and has been a fixture in Philadelphia thru TV, ownership, golf courses and charity work.
Randall Cunningham – “The Ultimate Weapon”
Randall was a 2nd round draft pick in the 1985 draft. He picked up where Jaws left off by starting 107 games for The Birds from 1985-1995. This was known as “The Buddy Ryan and Rich Kotite Eras”. During that time Cunningham and the Eagles were 63-43-1 in games he started. He threw for 22,877 yards, 150 TD’s and 105 interceptions in his Eagles career. He rushed for 4,482 yards and 32 touchdowns which included a 942 yard season in 1990. He also has a 91 yard punt to his credit, which is the longest in Eagles history and the 4th longest of all time.
Randall made 3 Pro Bowls as an Eagle, 1988-90, won the Pro Bowl MVP in 1988 and was named NFC Player of the Year in 1990.
With Randall under center the Eagles compiled a 1-4 playoff record and never won an NFC Championship.
Donovan McNabb – “5”
After the Eagles squandered at QB from the end of the 1995 season through 1998 new Head Coach Andy Reid selected Donovan McNabb with the 2nd overall pick in the 1999 draft. That was the start of “The Andy Reid Era”.
McNabb went on to start 142 Eagles regular season games from 1999-2009. The teams’ record in those games was 92-49-1. McNabb threw for 32,872 yards, 216 TD’s and 100 interceptions. He also rushed for 3,249 yards and 28 TD’s in his Eagles career.
“5” was selected to 6 Pro Bowls. In 2004, he was selected NFC Offensive Player of the Year and NFC Player of the Year.
During his tenure with the Eagles, he led the team to four consecutive NFC East division championships (2001-2004, five NFC Championship Games (2001-2004 and 2008), and made one trip to the Super Bowl. His teams were 10-8 in the playoffs with 1 NFC Championship.
Donovan holds nearly every passing record in Eagles history.
There you have some statistical history which may or may not mean anything to you because you already have a favorite. Now’s your time to pick you favorite Eagles QB of the last 30+ years.
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The last time the NFL season ended on January 1 was 2005, the last time the Eagles had a losing record (6-10). That season also ended at home against the Washington Redskins and a 31-20 loss. The last time the Eagles ended 8-8 was 2007 and they finished that season with a 3 game winning streak. Of course the ’11 team was also 8-8. It’s interesting to compare the three season but lets throw some names and numbers around. Obviously Andy Reid was the Head Coach. Offensive coordinator in ’05 was Brad Childress, former Head Coach of the Vikings. In ’07 and ’11 it was Marty Morninweg. The ’05 offense scored 310 points and ranked 18th in the league. Donovan McNabb passed for 2507 yards and 16 TD’s while Brian Westbrook rushed for 617 yards and received another 616 yards. Terrell Owens also caught 47 passes for 763 yards. The ’07 offense scored 336 points and ranked 17th in the league. McNabb and AJ Feeley combined for 4005 yards passing. Westbrrok combined for 2104 yards of total offense and Kevin Curtis caught 77 balls for 1110 yards. The ’11 offense scored 396 points and ranked 8th in the league. Michael Vick passed for 3303 yards and 18 TD’s. LeSean McCoy rushed for 1309 yards and DeSean Jackson had 961 receiving yards while Jeremy Macklin added 859 yards and Brent Celek 811 yards. The interesting statistic is that the ’05 team finished 23rd in giveaway/takeaways, the ’07 team was 25th while the ’11 team finished 30th. The years in between, all winning seasons, were as follows” ’06 – 9th, ‘ 08 – 14th, ’09 – 2nd and ’10 – 5th. The offensive statistics bear out a simple fact that if you turnover the football in the NFL you will not win games.
The defenses are also interesting. The ’05 team under the direction of Jim Johnson gave up 388 points while finishing 28th in the league. The top 3 tacklers on that team were Jeremiah Trotter, Michael Lewis and Brian Dawkins. The ’07 team, also coordinated by Johnson, gave up 300 points and ranked 9th in the league. The top 3 tacklers were Omar Gaither, Takeo Spikes and Sheldon Brown. The ’11 team under Juan Castillo gave up 328 points and ranked 10th in the league. The leading tacklers were Jamar Chaney, Kurt Coleman and Nate Allen. What’s the most intersting is that of the 9 tacklers lsited for these years 5 of them are defensive backs. Whether that points to the play of the defensive line, linbackers or both can be argued. The years in between consistently had Quintin Mickel as a leading tackler but also had Stewart Bradley (MLB) and Trent Cole (DE) in the Top 3. What we do know is that the defense plays a big part in the giveaway/takeaway ratio discussed above. If the offense turns the ball over too much or the defense deosn’t create turnovers it plays a major part in the teams success.
Final analysis for improving in 2012 is simple, don’t turn the ball over on offense and create turnovers on defense. Pretty simple don’t you think???
I’m a lifetime Philladelphia sports fan. I have spent my entire life watching and attending Philly sporting events. I’m presently an Eagles season ticket holder and a Phillies Sunday season ticket holder and a Penn State footbal season ticket holder. I attend 6-8 Flyers games a year. I’ve seen the good ... Continue reading →
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