Sports Then and Now

Drew Brees celebrates with teammate, Devery Henderson after he threw a record-breaking touchdown pass on Sunday. Bress now has a TD pass in 48 straight games – breaking the record set by Johnny Unitas.

As always, it was another exciting week in the NFL with records being broken, upsets being recorded and Tim Tebow leading the Jets to a win. Well, two out of three ain’t bad.

Nevertheless, it was still another very exciting week in football that made us fans all grateful that we get to watch the game every week – and that the replacement referees are gone for good.

Now’s the part when I reminisce about both the good and the bad that the games had to offer.

First and foremost, Saints quarterback, Drew Brees threw a touchdown pass in his 48th straight game – a new NFL record. The previous record was 47 held by Johnny Unitas. The record-breaking pass was one of four for him on the night and came in the 1st quarter to Devery Henderson from 40 yards out. More importantly, the Saints picked up their first win of the season, 31-24 over the Chargers.

Five teams did not allow a touchdown in their Week 5 games. It’s not surprising that three of them were the Ravens, 49ers and Bears. It is surprising, however, that the other two were the Rams and the Chiefs. The Chiefs were the only team to not allow a touchdown and lose the game. The Ravens beat them, without scoring a touchdown, 9-6.

Two teams – the Bears and the 49ers won by more than 38 points. The 49ers beat the Bills 45-3 and the Bears crushed the Jaguars 41-3.

The Cardinals suffered their first loss of the year, falling to the Rams 17-3 on Thursday night.

San Francisco set a franchise record with 621 yards of total offense in their win against Buffalo. It was also the most yards that the Bills have ever given up. Alex Smith threw for 303 yards and three TD’s. The Bills also became the first team to allow 550+ yards of offense in consecutive weeks since 1950.

The Bears recorded an interception return in their third straight game for the first time in their history. Charles Tillman returned a Blaine Gabbert pick 36 yards in the 2nd quarter to make the score 13-3 Bears.

The Patriots scored 3+ rushing touchdowns in consecutive games for the first time since 1978. Touchdowns were scored by Shane Vereen, Stevan Ridley and Tom Brady. Brady also threw a touchdown pass in his 38th straight game – remaining ten behind Brees for the all-time record.

Green Bay blew an 18-point halftime lead to the Colts and lost the game 30-27. Andrew Luck threw two touchdowns and Reggie Wayne had 212 yards receiving as the Pack blew their largest halftime lead since 1957.

In case you were wondering, the Browns are still winless. They fell to 0-6 after blowing a 14-0 lead against the Super Bowl Champion Giants. Dating back to last season, Cleveland has now lost 11 straight which is tied for the longest losing streak in its franchise history. On the bright side, rookie running back, Trent Richardson, recorded  a rushing touchdown in his fourth straight game.

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Steve Van Buren led the Philadelphia Eagles to back-to-back NFL titles.

Sorry to hear of the passing of one of the greatest football players of his generation, former Philadelphia Eagles great Steve Van Buren, at the age of 91.

The first Eagles player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Van Buren was was a four-time NFL rushing champion and led his team to consecutive NFL Championships.

After leading the nation in points and touchdowns as a senior at LSU, he was drafted in the first round of the 1944 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles and over the next eight seasons would become the transcendent rusher of his era .

As a rookie for the Eagles, Van Buren showed glimpses of his future brilliance by rushing for 444 yards in nine games and leading the league with an average of 5.6 yards per carry. He also returned both a kickoff and punt for a touchdown and earned All-Pro honors as a defensive player with five interceptions.

The following season, Van Buren led the NFL in rushing with 832 yards on the ground in 10 games. He scored 18 total touchdowns and led the NFL in scoring with 110 points.

In 1947 he led the Eagles to a spot in the NFL Championship game while eclipsing the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the first time with an NFL best 1,008 yards, 13 rushing touchdowns and 1,087 yards from scrimmage. After defeating Pittsburgh in the opening round of the playoffs, the Eagles lost to the Chicago Cardinals 28-21 in the NFL title game as Van Buren was limited to 26 yards on the ground while scoring a touchdown in the loss.

The following season, Van Buren gained 945 yards rushing to again top the league. The Eagles again faced Chicago in the NFL Championship Game and this time despite a major snowstorm, Van Buren rushed for 98 yards and scored the only touchdown of the game as the Eagles won 7-0 to claim their first NFL Championship. Read the rest of this entry →

Steve Van Buren

The December Sports Then and Now Vintage Athlete of the Month was a four-time NFL rushing champion and led his team to consecutive NFL Championships.

After leading the nation in points and touchdowns as a senior at LSU, Steve Van Buren was drafted in the first round of the 1944 NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles and over the next eight seasons would become the transcendent rusher of his era . Read the rest of this entry →

It has been a disappointing season for Andy Reid and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles parted ways prior to the 2010 season, but more than a year later both are struggling through a nightmare 2011 season.

On the day that the Eagles lost to the Seattle Seahawks to ensure they wouldn’t have a winning campaign, their former quarterback was released by the Minnesota Vikings after a disappointing stint as their starting quarterback.

While the struggles of McNabb are only somewhat surprising, that the Eagles have self-destructed is a huge shock.

One of the most aggressive teams in the free agent market during the offseason, the Eagles were dubiously dubbed the “Dream Team” by their new backup quarterback Vince Young.

However, after starting with an impressive 31-13 victory over the St. Louis Rams, the dream season suddenly turned sour with four straight losses.

The worst of these losses occurred on October 2nd when the San Francisco 49ers rallied from a 23-3 third quarter deficit to edge the Eagles 24-23 in front of a shocked Philadelphia faithful.

It appeared that head coach Andy Reid had righted the ship with back-to-back victories over the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys, but close losses to the Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals were followed by a disappointing loss to the New York Giants and then the listless loss in Seattle.

With the addition of pass rusher Jason Babin and cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, defense was supposed to be the strength for the Eagles in 2011. However, through 11 games the team ranked 19th in the league in points allowed and 15th in yards allowed.

After surrendering 31 points to the Seahawks, they have now allowed 30 or more points to their opponents five times in 12 games.

The high flying offense was also supposed to be among the best in the NFL led by quarterback Michael Vick. After a break-out season in 2010, the Eagles parted ways with Kevin Kolb (who was originally expected to succeed McNabb as the Eagles franchise quarterback) and gave Vick a huge contract. Read the rest of this entry →

Which quarterback would you rather have?

Of the two left-handed, running quarterbacks in the NFL, which would you rather have: Michael Vick or Tim Tebow?

At first that question probably seems a bit silly. After all, Vick has a decade of NFL experience while Tebow has started just seven games as a pro and the number of NFL “experts” who believe he will never be a quality pro quarterback could fill a stadium.

However, given that Tebow suddenly has the Denver Broncos in contention in the AFC West while Vick and the Eagles are the biggest disappointment in the NFC the question has at least some validity.

What is ironic about Vick is that for most of his career he had the reputation as the unconventional quarterback who didn’t put up great numbers, but did what was needed to win games.

During his six seasons with the Atlanta Falcons, Vick was 38-28-1 as a starting quarterback while leading the team to a pair of trips to the playoff and one appearance in the NFC Championship Game. He did that while never posting a season quarterback rating higher than 81.6 (75.7 for the six seasons) and completing only 53.8% of his passes.

Since becoming the starter for the Philadelphia Eagles, Vick’s numbers have suddenly become comparable to the elite quarterbacks in the league. He has completed 62% of his passes over the last two years with a quarterback rating of 94. However, after winning eight of 11 starts in 2010, Vick is now just 3-6 as a starter so far in 2011 despite having a team that everyone thought had the talent capable of contending for a Super Bowl berth. Read the rest of this entry →

Reggie White (#92), Jerome Brown (#99) and Mike Pitts (#74) were part of the dominating defense of the Eagles during the late 1980s.

A new NFL Network special looks back at a time 20 years ago when the Philadelphia Eagles also had a team that many believed had the talent to win a Super Bowl. However, while three of their division rivals were able to win titles in the early 1990s, the Eagles were left to contemplate what could have been.

The documentary focuses on two of the defensive stars from the Eagles teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s, Jerome Brown and Reggie White. Both players were key components of one of the dominant defenses of the era and both players passed away far too early (as did fellow Eagles from that era Todd Bell and Andre Waters).

Between 1988 and 1992, the Eagles posted a 52-28 regular season record and joined the San Francisco 49ers as the only teams in the NFL to post double digit victory totals in all five seasons. However, while the 49ers claimed two Super Bowl titles during that stretch and the other three were won by the Eagles’ NFC East rivals the Giants, Redskins and Cowboys, the Eagles were left waiting for a next year that never came.

Under the guidance of head coach Buddy Ryan, defense was the calling card of the Eagles during that era. Utilizing the 4-6 defense that had helped the Chicago Bears win a Super Bowl, Ryan turned the Eagles into an intimidating, ball-hawking defense that regularly created big plays on the defensive end of the game.

While the unit had many talented players, the unquestioned leader of the defense was defensive end Reggie White. The “Minister of Defense” was a defensive juggernaut and regularly punished any quarterback or running back that dared get in his way.

During his eight seasons with the Eagles between 1985 and 1992, White registered 124 sacks in 121 games, including an amazing 21 sacks in just 12 games during the strike-shortened 1987 campaign. He also forced 18 fumbles and recovered 12.

When Philadelphia made defensive tackle Jerome Brown their first pick (ninth overall) in the 1987 draft, it provided White with a rush partner that forced opposing offenses to worry about the rush from both the inside and outside.

By 1988, their third season under Ryan, the Eagles had gelled as a team and were ready to make a run at the playoffs. Read the rest of this entry →