Sports Then and Now

Many fans were hoping for a shootout when two of the most high-powered offenses in the NFL, the Washington Redskins and the Green Bay Packers, got together for a week 7 Monday night game in Lambeau Field.

The Redskins were the defending Super Bowl champions and entered this game with a 5-1 record, their only loss being a 31-30 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in week 1.

Washington’s offense had been outstanding though the first six games as it averaged nearly 30 points and 356 yards per game,

Quarterback Joe Theismann had all sorts of his weapons with a backfield that consisted of running backs John Riggins and Joe Washington to go along with a great corps of receivers known as the “Fun Bunch” for their end zone celebrations, Art Monk, Charlie Brown, and Alvin Garrett.

But the heart of the Redskins’ offense was in its offensive line, known as the “Hogs”, who were able to dominate the line of scrimmage to provide huge holes for their running backs and allowed Theismann the time to find his receivers.

The Packers had a high-powered offense as well as it averaged nearly 27 points and 389 yards per game through the first six games, thanks to quarterback Lynn Dickey. Read the rest of this entry →

The consensus is that the best rivalry in the National Football League is between the Dallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins.

For the past 40 years, the Cowboys and the Redskins have staged many memorable games in their annual quest to be the best in the NFC East.  One of those memorable games occurred on the opening day of the 1999 NFL season when the Cowboys came back from a 21-point fourth quarter deficit to knock off the Redskins 41-35 in Washington D.C.

This opening day was supposed to be special for Washington as it was the first regular season game with Daniel Snyder as owner of the Redskins after he bought the team in May 1999 for $800 million.

Despite the fact they had finished 6-10 the year before, expectations were high for the Redskins as they had acquired quarterback Brad Johnson from the Minnesota Vikings for three draft picks.

While the Redskins seemed to be on the rise, the Dallas Cowboys had the look of an aging dynasty. In 1998, the Cowboys won the NFC East under first year head coach Chan Gailey but were stunned at home by the Arizona Cardinals 20-7 in their Wild Card playoff game.

Dallas had major off-the-field issues during the offseason as offensive tackle Mark Tuinei died of a drug overdose and defensive tackle Leon Lett was suspended for the entire season because of drug use. Read the rest of this entry →

Instead of facing the Washington Redskins, Donovan McNabb will instead be wearing their uniform in 2010.

It has been known for weeks that Donovan McNabb had played his last game as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, but it is quite a surprise that he will remain in the NFC East for 2010. A trade between the Eagles and Washington Redskins was finalized on Sunday that will give the Eagles the 37th pick in the second round and a third or fourth round choice in the 2011 draft.

That the Eagles would be willing to trade McNabb to a division rival seems to illustrate that the Eagles truly believe they are stronger under the guidance of fourth-year pro Kevin Kolb as in the six-time Pro Bowler McNabb.

With three high caliber quarterbacks on the roster-McNabb, Kolb and Michael Vick-the Eagles had a backlog that needed to be purged.

Originally the Eagles were shopping all three quarterbacks to see which might bring the best offer, but it quickly became clear that McNabb would be the one to go. With only one year remaining on his contract, the Eagles risked losing him for no compensation if they did keep him for one more season. Read the rest of this entry →

Daniel Snyder has spent a decade alienating fans of the Washington Redskins while not producing a consistent winner.

Growing up in Southern Virginia, the two closest “big” cities were Richmond and Washington D.C. They were not only the largest cities, but also the closest places with “big time” sports.

As a kid we went to Richmond numerous times each year to see the Richmond Braves (Triple-A team for the Atlanta Braves). With the Redskins being the closest NFL team, you couldn’t go far in the fall without seeing someone sporting the maroon and gold of the Skins. It has been 14 years since I have lived in the area, but I was home last weekend and learned that things have changed a lot (and not for the better) in relation to the sports teams in these two historic cities.
Trouble in D.C.
For generations, there have been very few fan bases in sports that could be considered more loyal than the Washington Redskins. Even when the franchise was enduring a span of 13 straight years without a winning record in the 1950s and 1960s, the stadium was full and there was a waiting list decades long for tickets.
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The Bills dramatic victoy over the Jets is the lone highlight of their young season.

So far, at least, it’s been a very strange season in the NFL. Some have called it bizarre.  I think that adjective applies.

The one thing that distinguishes the NFL from other major professional sports is its parity. That is no accident. The league has gone to great lengths from its straight bottom up draft (compare to the NBA’s lottery draft) to revenue sharing to salary caps, the league has done everything other than working a handicap into game scores to establish and maintain relative balance. The result is that the NFL is the most watched professional sport in the United States, and pro football has supplanted baseball as America’s pastime.

That being said, what’s going on this year? We’ve had a string of lopsided victories, including a 59-0 routing of the Tennessee Titans by the less than peak-performing Patriots. And what’s more, how have the Titans gone from winning 13 games last year to being unable to score 13 points this year? In addition, we have as many as five other teams that threaten the maxim that on any given day any given team can beat any other. More than once, sportscasters have said of the game they were reporting, “this doesn’t even resemble the NFL.”

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Each week, Sports Then and Now picks one NFL matchup and looks through the history books to find an intriguing past meeting between the two teams. We recap the game and hopefully help reintroduce (or introduce for you younger readers) you to some of the greats (and in some cases not so greats) from the history of professional football.

Since their first meeting during the 1934 season when the Redskins still called Boston home, the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins have played some exciting and memorable games. As NFC East rivals, they play twice annually in games that often have playoff implications.

Until the late 1980s, it surprisingly was not common for both the Redskins and Eagles to be contenders at the same time.

When the Redskins were contending in the late 1930s and early 1940s, the Eagles were among the weaker teams in the league. By the time the Eagles became a contender in the late 1940s, the Redskins had already started a stretch in which they recorded only three winning seasons in 22 years.

Despite the struggles of the Redskins, they did give the Eagles a serious run during the 1947 season opener. In a game for the ages, Sammy Baugh connected on five touchdown passes and Eddie Saenz had a 94-yard kickoff return for the Redskins. However, Tommy Thompson threw three touchdown passes and Steve Van Buren scored on a 95-yard kickoff return and a one-yard run as the Eagles held on for a 45-42 victory.

While the Redskins became winners in the 1970s, the Eagles were in the middle of a stretch of 11 seasons without a winning record.

It wasn’t until the late 1980s, with Joe Gibbs guiding the Redskins and Buddy Ryan guiding the Eagles that both teams were at the top of their game at the same time.

Our Classic Rewind for this week looks at a memorable matchup from the second week of the 1989 season when the Eagles shocked the RFK crowd with a dramatic fourth quarter comeback.

This game has particularly special memories for me as I was serving as an intern in the Public Relations Department of the Eagles at the time and had the pleasure of observing the game from the press box.
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