1993 Philadelphia Eagles Team Season Highlights "Soaring On A Broken Wing"

[Applause] Sports Illustrated just opened a new store right in your own living room with a large selection of the newest hottest and most unique sports merchandise and entertainment releases at the Sports Illustrated store you can get the best sports videos like Michael Jordan air time [Music] Plus quick access to championship tapes featuring the Super Bowl the NBA Finals the Final Four and the World Series there's also high-quality authentic sports merchandise the real stuff from NFL Pro line NBA Authentics and Major League Baseball authentic diamond collection our sports collectibles feature the original 1954 first issue of Sports Illustrated as well as signed SI covers from some of the biggest names in sports clusters also the latest si book releases it's for chopping the easy way just look for our product inserts or our Sports Illustrated store ads in the pages of si to order call toll-free 1-800 to 74 5200 [Music] now last year the NFL had all the things that fans have come to expect from profligate in all professional sports I don't think anything quite compares the spectacle [Applause] I think everybody knew going in last year that Dallas was the dominant team not only this team have talent who had great desire to dominate [Applause] it was a great year for old pros you know vintage guys like Simms Montana certainly wasn't a bad year for young guys either of course she had Reggie Brooks and drone medicine running back and he had quarterbacks like Rick Meyer and Drew Bledsoe it's very unusual for quarterbacks they have an impact like that so quickly and of course pro football always has its lighter side the shield evidently not Fredi broke his nose that's what's the matter when he broke his nose in the end however the Dallas Cowboys talent and fire prevailed in a big way it's anybody's guess how offseason developments will affect Dallas chances of winning a third straight Superbowl but for one of 27 challengers to Dallas's supremacy this is how it went last year a year that had it all NFL 93 [Applause] [Music] the 1993 Philadelphia Eagles began their season on the fast track to championship contention they sprinted off of the starting blocks racing to four straight victories spectacular come-from-behind [Music] [Applause] through the seasons first four games no story was more compelling than the one being written by the Philadelphia [Applause] but this season of promise soon became a season of pain injuries debilitating injuries derail the Eagle Express it can't fall into the trap of feeling sorry for yourself why me I don't understand this you know this could be a heck of a year 1993 was a heck of a year the Eagles never stop battling they overcame a series of injuries as crippling as any team has faced in recent memory they won four of their final six games including their last three [Applause] [Music] in 1993 the Eagles showed the character and resilience that champions are made of [Applause] opening day at veteran's stadium and a familiar sight randall cunningham making something happen with his legs it would also be something new to see on this September Sunday in South Philadelphia a rookie free agent running back named Vaughn Hebron [Applause] the Eagles 23 to 17 win over the Cardinals was a mere pregnancy what to follow over the course of the next month [Music] in Green Bay the Eagles fell behind 17 to 7 it was against the Packers that this team first displayed the character and will that would become in signature [Music] in the fourth quarter the Eagles grabbed hold of the picture [Applause] [Applause] that's cool with five seconds remaining the comeback was complete [Music] one week later the Eagles again fell behind early against the Redskins they would have to fight back again and again and yet [Applause] [Music] [Applause] the Redskins opened up a 21 to 10 lead at the start of the third quarter in a game that would ultimately produce 65 total points the Eagles defense began to assert itself in the second half [Music] [Applause] all pro Eric Allen's third quarter interception kept the Eagles within striking distance and midway through the fourth period Philadelphia would come all the way back [Applause] [Applause] just like that the redskins thankfully and take the window the Eagles trailed 31 to 24 the stage was set for eight of the most compelling minutes in Philadelphia football history [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the Eagles would need and touchdown to win the offense would get the ball with less than two minutes remaining the game would be in the hands of Randall Cunningham [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] that was the best I've seen Randall Cunningham I mean he said hey they're trying to signalling plays the clocks running get down get down run you know 19 16 14 in I mean it was just unbelievable this is the stuff legends are made on you know 80-yard drives with two minutes to go it's the stuff that the stories are we bitten written about later on three games into the 1993 season Randall Cunningham and again taken his place as one of the NFL's shining lights but Randall's brilliant beginning was extinguished at the Meadowlands a fractured fibula would end Cunningham season the Eagles were now bubby Brister Steve and against the Jets wrister rallied Philadelphia from a 21 to 7 second quarter deficit [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] for the third game in a row the Eagles were playing from behind and for the third game in a row that was showing the character of a champion the girls will have to come from behind one more time the man of this moment would be Eric Allen [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] one more big defensive play would be needed on fourth down with 28 seconds Romanians Byron Evans delivered to Victoria [Music] [Applause] [Music] the Eagles were four no they were the most exciting team in the National Football League but it would not take long for the hard realities of NFL life to hit all Randall Cunningham was finished with the season so was Fred Barnett and two weeks later against the Giants bubby Brister went down for the second time in three years the Eagles were forced to use a number three quarterback for an extended number of games predictably there was a drop-off in overall production but there was never a decline in effort that was especially evident against the Dallas Cowboys on a rainy October afternoon at Veterans Stadium [Music] [Applause] one fourth-quarter play burn the Eagles [Music] two weeks later the winning touchdown was only five [Music] [Applause] the Eagles would lose six consecutive games in every one they had a very real chance to win in the fourth quarter but the 1993 Eagles never took a step backward they always looked ahead it was a very simple belief fostered by head coach Rich ko type you get beat you move on he's a fighter like he's told us all throughout the season all everybody in this room at one time another that's gotten their ass kicked and you know that's true if you haven't got your ass kicked by this point and you know something's not right you're not playing the game right we had our chances to fold up our tans and say hell with it you know 94 will be better you know we won't have the injuries will get Randall back but that's not the way this team is it's not the way rich would have let it happen in Washington almost two months since their last victory the eagles turned in a performance that in many ways embodied the heart and soul of this team when Bourne Hepburn scored the Eagles led 10 to nothing but the Redskins with two fourth-quarter touchdowns went ahead 14 to 10 with the specter of six consecutive losses haunting the Eagles fortified by the return of Brister forged a 75-yard Drive that featured the receiving of Calvin Williams and the running of Vaughan Everett [Music] [Applause] [Music] 46 seconds remaining victory belong to the Eagles [Music] the NFL season is unlike any other professional sports season it consists of only 16 games each game takes on an added importance a heightened significance every week becomes a larger-than-life event it's six months of passion and emotion yet to be successful you must remain disciplined and focused you can't become empowered by victory or paralyzed by defeat this is a game of adjusting it's a game of of going on the best thing he brings to this team is stability bridge he has a way of giving off a presence that you know of confidence would just keep fighting and scratching we've won five games this year four of those games were come-from-behind after we were four no this year we felt we could beat anybody and come back from any deficit we were the first team in the history of the National Football League that's a long time that came back three weeks in a row from ten or more points it was 10 points 11 points and 21 points and won all three by the middle of December when the Eagles played buffalo at veteran's stadium the season had become a test of character and will it was a test the Eagles passed yes the Eagles lost 1070 but 1993 he had evolved into a season that went beyond wins and losses it was a year when laying it on the line each week in the most trying of circumstances was the true measure of his team one man who pointed the way was Calvin Williams Williams sixty catches were a career-best and his ten touchdowns were the fourth best total in the NFL offensive MVP Herschel Walker was one of the most versatile performers in the NFL and in 1993 he was the team leader in rushing and receiving William Thomas emerged as an impact player the third-year linebacker became a big playmaker disrupting and delivery few defensive tackles matched the play of Andy Harmon who's 11 and a half sacks ranked second among all inside pass rushers in the NFL [Music] and there's no question that Byron Evans was on his way to his first Pro Bowl before a broken arm sidelined him for five games at midseason [Music] a season of injury is also a season of opportunities Britt Hagar replaced Evans starting six games with little decline in productivity the opportunity had come a year earlier for little mark macmillan in 1993 he played big the defense kept the Eagles in every game and with the arrival of William Perry against Miami the run defense improved by almost typically not repeating over the final eight weeks of the season [Applause] 1993 was a season when many were called upon young players looking to establish an identity like rookie wide receiver Victor Bailey who showcased a knack for the spectacular and a feel for open space and there were experienced all pros seeking and discovering that useful resilience it was a mix that would serve the Eagles well in the final three games [Music] in 1993 the efforts of Norman Braman Harry gamble and rich Co tide brought stability and patient leadership to an organization that could easily have taken a step backward in the face of so much adversity in the back rooms of the NFL they earn tremendous respect for a franchise that has averaged 10 wins a year over the past six seasons the Eagles were at the crossroads in Indianapolis there were three games to play the playoffs remain the possibility but the stretch run would really be about pride four more sacks by a rejuvenated pass-rush that was among the league's best in the season's final month and a half a Brister to Williams 14 yard touchdown they were the highlights in the methodical twenty to ten victory a week later the Eagles trailed the Saints 9 to nothing after one quarter the defense made the play that turned the game [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] first on what's the throw he's [Applause] the Eagles exploded for 18 second quarter points again this team fought back the defense was one reason the Eagles never gave in against the Saints they continued their late season domination allowing New Orleans only 7 first downs and 158 total yards [Music] the second reason was bubby Brister in many ways the free agent quarterback symbolized the 1993 Eagles tough gritty resilient against the Saints Brister directed one of the most impressive drives of the NFL season a nine and a half minute Odyssey that used 17 plays and ended in the inside [Applause] [Music] the second half would also feature a record-setting performance by era gap [Applause] [Music] [Applause] laughs back fires to the near side aricept [Applause] Allen became only the third player in NFL history to return four interceptions four touchdowns in a single season the Eagles had won their second straight one game remained [Music] [Applause] [Applause] the roller-coaster ride ended on a Monday night in San Francisco the playoff flame had been extinguished yet the Eagles were on fire [Music] [Applause] [Music] midway through the second quarter the Eagles led 24 to 3 but this game would take on a bizarre almost surreal quality in a totally unpredictable turn the 49ers would tie the score 13 minutes later the Eagles response a to play touchdown drive [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] it only made sense that this epic would not be decided until no time remain in overtime the team that never quit fought until the last possible second [Music] of all those fauna the kick is away [Applause] they might have a penalty flag you might have roughing the kicker roughing the kicker running [Applause] it's good [Music] [Applause] hi I'm Steve Sabol you know it's it's very difficult to draw any realistic conclusions about a team when the starting quarterback doesn't play most of the season and when that starting quarterback is the multi-dimensional Randall Cunningham the task becomes almost impossible in 1994 Cunningham will be back for Philadelphia and he elevates a solid Eagles team into a legitimate playoff contender I think the reports of gloom and doom in Philadelphia I think they're a little premature the Eagles enter 1994 with impact players on both sides of the ball and since the NFC East is is now in a state of flux this is a team with the talent to emerge at the top of the division there's a lot of doom and gloom in in Philadelphia as far as you know how they perceived the football team I don't think that there's any way that you lose joiner Simmons white in two years and then can contend for a division title all defenses now that there's a salary cap if you got good players you're gonna lose them or you can't keep everybody who has a great year because their value has gone way up on the open market let's shed some light on this discussion of the 1994 Philadelphia Eagles yes two fine players are gone from last year's defense but the reality is this neither Seth joiner nor Clyde Simmons was an impact player in 1993 in 1994 the new-look Eagle defense will feature William fuller the pass rushing defensive end signed as a free agent from the Houston Oilers the Fuller Brush man has been among the AFC leaders in sacks over the past four seasons offseason trades brought the Eagles to more quality veterans defensive end Burt Grossman came from the San Diego Chargers and like fuller he is a strong pass rusher a draft day deal brought bill Romanowski the consistent linebacker from the San Francisco 49ers whose strength lies in his versatility and this is a defense that already features an all-pro at corner in Eric Allen and to saw the linebackers in Byron Evans and emerging star William Thomas number 51 he kind of reminds me of Byron Evans three or four years ago you'd play the Giants and the Giants would come out of the game and Phil Simms would say God where'd this Byron Evans guy come from who is he you know and you'd say boy Byron Evans is a great player it's the same thing that will William Thomas I think that people who play him division rivals who had to play him twice in 1993 are just sitting back and taking notice and finally saying or suddenly saying WOW who's this guy this is the exact type of guy who the Eagles need step forward we have the kind of breakout season where by November and early December people are saying hey we got to pay attention to this guy if he continues to play like that that's gonna go a long way to making the Eagles respectable again what makes Philadelphia more than respectable is Randall Cunningham in fact the numbers indicate that the Eagles with Randall over Center have one of the league's best records over the last couple of seasons I'm not a real stat guy but I'll give you a stat in three years I've been the coach I've had him for 20 games and he's missed 28 games he's 15 and 5 in the games that have had come again thanks to the beating fat pain steps up [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] he's extremely respected in the league defenses have a real problem in defending the Eagles when he's playing you [Applause] he was on his way to having his greatest year last year when he broke his leg against the Jets he's worked very hard he's healthy and I expect them to come roaring back the Eagles are kind of a middle-of-the-road team they don't really stick out in any one area except a quarterback when Cunningham is healthy and when he's doing the things he can do when he's got that that nice smooth release when he's making some of those incredible open field moves getting tacklers to miss him offensively especially with Randall coming back the Eagles are good enough to be at 10 11 12 win team the entire fortune of this team is going to be told with whether they can stop the run which it sure look like for most of the year last year they couldn't and whether they're going to be able to have any degree of consistency in overall defensive effort you take it one year at a time you try to make the most of 1994 if you could get that chemistry going and get them to to get that focused with some new people in the locker room the teams that do it the quicker so the ones are gonna be there and win in 1976 a young man from the West Coast was hired to come East to transform a group of losers into a team of winners Dick Vermeil was only 39 years old when he became head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles but famille was not a product of the low-key laid-back 60s generation no Vermeil believed in the old fashioned way of doing things and that began with hard work Dick Vermeil only coached the Eagles for seven seasons but in that time he earned a place in Philadelphia sports history the story of former Eagles head coach Dick Vermeil is the story of old-fashioned virtues like sincerity integrity and courage it's the story of a fierce competitor who demanded from his players all-out effort all the time and from the fans the respect this effort deserved it's the story of the fickle world of sport and how the range of emotion can run from ridicule to reverence [Music] but most of all it's the story of how a coach molded a group of losers into a team of champions the turning point is such an easy question with the Philadelphia Eagles that's when Dick Vermeil came in at first I thought Dick Vermeil was just a hairy high school crazy coach from the Napa Valley and he got a little college coaching in he instilled the discipline that was so obviously lacking with the Philadelphia Eagle team and he was the catalyst that made everything happened when he arrived in 1976 what Vermeil found pierced at the heart of everything he believed in the team he inherited didn't have the talent to win that he could accept what was inexcusable was that they didn't even have the heart to try there was a lot of players that did rebel against Dick Vermeil they didn't like him they wanted him out of there and these players who had played under a previous coach they didn't really care they wanted their paycheck and they wanted to go about their business but the more they rebelled against takfir meal the more Dick Vermeil bellied up to him and after a while he just started throwing away one at a time the house cleaning was swift did not produce immediate result as the Eagles grow through to more losing seasons [Music] but even in defeat the seeds of becoming Renaissance were planted particularly in a new gospel that Vermeil spread with a conviction of a roadside preacher our thing is everybody somebody most people don't know how well they can do something until they really test themselves and if you work real hard then the best a lot of hours of getting better and you're an unselfish person and you do what you're asked to do as hard as you can do it every day on the practice field well sanity it becomes just part of your personality that's it now we won't get a second chance for meals passion was the force that held the Eagles together as the slow and painful transition from plunderers to professionals evolve - we were close and we almost got her done and I'll tell you you don't have to be embarrassed about your performance I'm proud of you I'm disappointed for you I'm disappointed for you I'm disappointed for the coaching staff and mr. tose and everybody else but damn it we're a good football team and don't let anybody tell you different Vermeil restored hope and confidence to a team that had lacked both for years he believed in honesty and hard work spirit and second effort his special talent was that he was able to inspire so many of his players to grasp these ideas [Music] with strong veterans like Stan Walters and all pros Bill Bergey and Harold Carmichael providing the foundation Vermeil erected a monument to winning that had been lacking in Philadelphia for over a decade [Music] 12 years 12 years is going by since the Eagles a bit of winter we're gonna come out winners today you work like winners you've played like winners sure we've won a couple we should have lost but I'll tell you something else we've lost a few we should have won we're right where we ought to be playing for the first winning season since 1966 hey God love all first and goal for the Eagles are the Giants seven to Montgomery [Music] his article slanted intercepted [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] if you surround yourself with good people chances are things are gonna go your way more often than not and fortunately my good people have are also good football players I think a lot of people would be surprised to find out how well a guy can play if he has character in he's in the right atmosphere Vermeil success story was one of genuine concern and commitment he cared about his players and pledged his allegiance to those he believed in men like quarterback Ron Jaworski Jaworski's first season in Philadelphia was a coach's nightmare his highs were matched by his lows and impatient fans hardened by one losing season after another were unwilling to cut the young quarterback any slack you might as well cash you might as well write this I am NOT gonna let the fan substitute my quarterback they've been doing that here for years and they have never come up with a quarterback thing a win for him I've got one that can win for us they do all they want I'm not gonna take him out of there that's the only way a guy matures is to sit in there and throw nine innings come here I want you to hear me on when I say this Jaworski would soon accede to even his coach's expectations from 1978 through 1980 he started and won more games than any quarterback in the NFL except Terry Bradshaw you in 1984 meals fifth season in Philadelphia Jaworski was chosen the NFC Player of the Year as he passed the Eagles to the Eastern Division title with young men of promise and old men reborn the Eagles captured the hearts and imagination of the country's most cynical fans we watched ours a cold January Sunday the Eagles defeated the Dallas Cowboys to win the championship of the National Conference [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] but excitement and anticipation turned to despair as the dream of a Super Bowl championship quickly faded away in a lopsided loss to the Oakland Raiders [Music] the following season brought a fresh perspective and a renewed commitment not surprisingly remiel asked his players to give even more in fact he insisted on it but the promise of an autumn of championship contention dissolved into a winter of discontent as victory proved beyond the Eagles reach and five of their final six games [Music] a difficult truth had taken all the harder vermeil worked the less his team chief after a losing season in 1982 the fire that once plays so passionately in his heart had burned out it's an emotional time for me and being way too intense and part too emotional I'll do as good a job as I can right now I'm gonna take my own advice and step down out of coaching I am emotionally burnt out and therefore feel that I need a break I'm just burnt out I hope very much my players can understand where I'm coming from I love those guys I love these people all the people here you are in station and it's not an easy thing to do to say goodbye to him but as a professional coach I feel like I owe it to him and I owe it to myself Dick Vermeil left the NFL a defeated man but his story goes far beyond winning and losing it's a celebration of the human spirit and how one man can truly make a difference in the lives of so many others the book may be closed but the story is remembered it's one of belief of compassion and ultimately of achievement that is the legacy of Dick Vermeil [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: Sports Odyssey

Views: 2,157

Rating: 5 out of 5

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Id: ldkOFzxC1l0

Length: 45min 2sec (2702 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 19 2019