1997: Warren Moon Signs with Seahawks

On March 7, 1997 QB Warren Moon agreed to a two-year, $1.65 million contract to join the Seattle Seahawks. The 40-year-old had also been considering the San Diego Chargers, which would have reunited him with Kevin Gilbride, the offensive coordinator for four seasons in Houston who had been hired as the new head coach of the Chargers. A return to the Oilers had also been a possibility, but the choice ultimately came down to Seattle and San Diego.

“This is where I want to retire and make my home,” explained Moon. “When it came right down to it, Seattle just had too many positives.”

1997 was to be Moon’s 20^th season in pro football, and signing with Seattle brought him back to the city where he had starred in college. He was MVP of the 1978 Rose Bowl while playing for the Huskies but, with pro teams still leery of black quarterbacks, went undrafted by the NFL and signed with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League. Moon had a spectacular career in the CFL, gradually taking over as starting quarterback from Tom Wilkinson and leading the team to five Grey Cup titles in six years. Along the way, he also had back-to-back 5000-yard passing seasons in 1982 and ’83 and received the Schenley Award as CFL Player of the Year and Jeff Nicklin Trophy as Western Player of the Year after the latter year.

With no NFL team holding his draft rights, Moon had his choice of clubs to play for when he decided to return to the US in 1984 and signed with the Houston Oilers (after considering an offer from the Seahawks). In ten years with the Oilers, the last few spent in a pass-friendly run-and-shoot offense, Moon threw for 33,685 yards and 196 touchdowns and was selected to the Pro Bowl six straight times. Tough and a good leader with a strong arm and good mobility, he overcame a slow start in transitioning to the NFL to lead the Oilers to the playoffs for seven straight years. Still, his regular season success failed to translate into postseason glory as it had in the CFL. Houston never made it as far as the conference title game during any of Moon’s years there.

Moving on to Minnesota in 1994, Moon passed for over 4000 yards in two straight seasons and added another 10,102 for his career over the course of three years, although injuries that included a severely sprained ankle limited him to eight games in ’96 and made him appear to finally be in decline.

Moon, who turned 41 prior to the ’97 season, was all part of a transition of the Seahawks under new owner Paul Allen, who brought a commitment to spend more for talent that included LB Chad Allen, CB Willie Williams, and SS Bennie Blades as free agents along with Moon.

He was to replace the disappointing Rick Mirer as backup to 30-year-old veteran John Friesz, who was entering his third year in Seattle. While tough and a good passer, Friesz was immobile and subject to injury, and it didn’t take long for him to suffer a season-ending injury when he went down with a broken right thumb in the season-opening game. Moon stepped in and proved to be a capable fit in Head Coach Dennis Erickson’s spread offense and set a new club record with 3678 passing yards while completing 59.3 percent of his passes with 25 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. Along the way, Moon had a five-touchdown, 409-yard passing performance in a win over the Raiders. He was named to his ninth Pro Bowl, while the club as a whole went 8-8.

Moon came back for a second year with the Seahawks in 1998 that was far less successful, despite a 3-0 start. A rib injury caused the 21-year veteran quarterback’s performance to suffer and Jon Kitna, a veteran of the World League of American Football, took over on the way to another 8-8 finish. Moon threw for just 1632 yards with 11 TDs and 8 interceptions and, when Erickson was sent packing and replaced by Mike Holmgren, he was released. His stated desire to finish his career in Seattle failed to materialize as he moved on to a backup role with the Kansas City Chiefs for the final two seasons of his long and productive stint as a pro quarterback.

With Seattle, he completed 458 of 786 passes (58.3 %) for 5310 yards with 36 touchdowns and 24 interceptions. These were just a small portion of his overall NFL totals of 3988 completions out of 6823 attempts for 49,325 yards, which all ranked third in league history at the time – especially impressive since he spent his first six years playing in Canada. His 291 TD passes ranked fourth. When his CFL numbers were added in, he had 5357 completions in 9205 attempts for 70,553 yards with 435 touchdowns against 310 interceptions. Warren Moon, whose accomplishments helped to break down barriers for African-American quarterbacks, was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006 – the only player to be enshrined in both.

1979: Falcons Trade Claude Humphrey to Eagles

On March 5, 1979 the Atlanta Falcons traded former All-Pro DE Claude Humphrey to the Philadelphia Eagles. Humphrey was sent to the Eagles for “future undisclosed draft choices”, although it was understood that the unspecified picks would come from the 1979 and ’80 drafts (they turned out to be fourth-round choices in each).

Humphrey had retired four games into the 1978 season but later expressed a desire to return to pro football, although not with Atlanta. His stated preference was to play for a team that utilized a four-man defensive front, rather than three, although the Eagles used a 3-4 defense as well.

Much of Humphrey’s interest in playing for the Eagles stemmed from the presence of Marion Campbell as defensive coordinator, who had been defensive line coach and head coach in Atlanta earlier in his career. Fred Bruney, also formerly on the Falcons staff, was Philadelphia’s defensive secondary coach.

“I learned all of my football from Marion Campbell because he was there the whole time I was there,” said Humphrey. “I asked to come here. I asked to be traded to the Eagles.”

Humphrey was a 34-year-old veteran of ten NFL seasons. He was 6’5” and 265 pounds and was chosen by the Falcons in the first round in 1968 (third overall) coming out of Tennessee State. He made enough of an impact in his first season to be named NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year by the Associated Press and, in his third year, was named to the Pro Bowl for the first of five straight years and six overall. With his fine pass rushing ability, he was also a consensus first-team All-Pro in 1972 and ’73.

However, the player known as “Big Claude” had missed all of the 1975 season with a knee injury, and while he successfully came back and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1977, his having walked away during the ’78 season raised questions as to whether he still had the desire and ability to help the Eagles.

Philadelphia was very much a team on the rise under Head Coach Dick Vermeil, having gone 9-7 in ’78 and reaching the postseason for the first time since 1960. The defensive line was good against the run, with NT Charlie Johnson and DE Carl Hairston, but while DE Dennis Harrison showed promise as a rookie, the team had accumulated only 29 sacks – a drop from 47 in 1977. The need for an experienced pass rusher was evident, and Humphrey was successfully worked in as a pass rushing specialist.

The Eagles improved to 11-5 in 1979 and again qualified for a Wild Card playoff spot. The defense ranked ninth overall and Humphrey contributed significantly as a part-time player, credited with 10 sacks (unofficially, since sacks did not become an official NFL statistic until 1982) and 31 hurries. It did not hurt that Hairston had 15 sacks and Johnson played well enough in the middle of the line to gain selection to the Pro Bowl.

Philadelphia won the NFC East with a 12-4 tally in 1980 and advanced to the Super Bowl. Humphrey again excelled as a role player with another 14.5 sacks unofficially compiled during the course of the season. He lasted one more year before retiring for good at the age of 37. While his career came to an end just before sacks became an official statistic, it has been estimated that he accumulated 122 over the course of 13 years with the Falcons and Eagles.

As a footnote, Atlanta used the draft choices obtained for Humphrey to pick running backs. First, it was Lynn Cain from USC, taken in the 1979 fourth round, and then I.M. Hipp of Nebraska, from the fourth round in 1980. Cain was by far the better choice, playing six years for Atlanta and rushing for 2309 yards on 615 carries (3.8 avg.) and 19 touchdowns with a high of 914 yards in 1980. He also caught 127 passes for 1061 yards (8.4 avg.) and another 6 TDs, with highs of 55 for 421 yards in ’81. Meanwhile, Hipp failed to make the club and had no better luck with other NFL and USFL teams.

MVP Profile: Marshall Faulk, 2001

Running Back, St. Louis Rams

Age: 28

8^th season in pro football, 3^rd with Rams

College: San Diego State

Height: 5’10” Weight: 211

Prelude:

Taken in the first round of the 1994 NFL draft (second overall) by the Indianapolis Colts, Faulk had a Rookie of the Year season with 1282 rushing yards and 52 catches for 522 more, establishing himself as an outstanding combination runner/receiver. He was selected to the Pro Bowl as well and was chosen again following a 1995 performance in which he rushed for 1078 yards and had 56 catches. Injuries, and a subpar offensive line, reduced his production significantly in 1996 and he ran for 1054 yards and caught 47 passes for a 3-13 team in ’97. Faulk returned to Pro Bowl form in 1998 as he rushed for 1319 yards and gained 908 yards on 86 pass receptions to lead the NFL with 2227 yards from scrimmage. He was traded to the Rams in the offseason for two draft picks and in 1999 became the key to a championship offense as he again led the league in yards from scrimmage (2429) with 1381 on the ground and 1048 through the air on 87 catches. Faulk thus became the second running back to gain a thousand yards both rushing and receiving in a season and, in addition to being chosen to the Pro Bowl for the fourth time, was a consensus first-team All-Pro. He followed up with another strong season in 2000, receiving MVP consideration while setting a new record for touchdowns (26) and gaining 1359 rushing yards plus 830 more on 81 catches for a total of 2189 yards from scrimmage. Faulk was a consensus first-team All-Pro for a second straight year and was selected to the Pro Bowl for the third consecutive time and fifth overall.

2001 Season Summary

Appeared and started in 14 of 16 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing

Attempts – 260 [14]

Most attempts, game - 30 (for 202 yds.) at Carolina 12/23

Yards – 1382 [5]

Most yards, game – 202 yards (on 30 carries) at Carolina 12/23

Average gain – 5.3 [3]

TDs – 12 [2, tied with Antowain Smith, 1st in NFC]

200-yard rushing games – 1

100-yard rushing games – 5

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 83 [13, tied with Joe Horn & Jerry Rice]  

Most receptions, game – 9 (for 80 yds.) at Detroit 10/8

Yards – 765

Most yards, game - 128 (on 6 catches) at Atlanta 12/2

Average gain – 9.2

TDs – 9 [5, tied with seven others]

100-yard receiving games – 1

Passing

Attempts – 1

Completions – 0

Interceptions – 0

All-Purpose Yards – 2147 [1]

Scoring

TDs – 21 [1]

2-pt PATs – 1

Points – 128 [1]

Postseason: 3 G

Rushing attempts – 64

Most rushing attempts, game – 31 (for 159 yds.) vs. Philadelphia, NFC Championship

Rushing yards – 317

Most rushing yards, game – 159 (on 31 att.) vs. Philadelphia, NFC Championship

Average gain rushing – 5.0

Rushing TDs – 3

Pass receptions – 14

Most pass receptions, game – 6 (for 47 yds.) vs. Green Bay, NFC Divisional playoff

Pass receiving yards – 114

Most pass receiving yards, game – 54 (on 4 rec.) vs. New England, Super Bowl

Average yards per reception – 8.1

Pass Receiving TDs – 0

Kickoff returns – 1

Kickoff return yards – 1

Awards & Honors:

NFL MVP: PFWA, Bert Bell Award, Sporting News

NFL Offensive Player of the Year: AP

1^st team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, Sporting News

1^st team All-NFC: Pro Football Weekly

Pro Bowl

Rams went 14-2 to finish first in the NFC West and gain the top seed in the conference for the playoffs while leading the NFL in total offense (6690 yards), passing yards (4663), scoring (503 points), and touchdowns (62). Won NFC Divisional playoff over Green Bay Packers (45-17) and NFC Championship over Philadelphia Eagles (29-24). Lost Super Bowl to New England Patriots (20-17).

Aftermath:

Faulk had one last Pro Bowl season in 2002 (his 7^th overall), but injuries and accumulated wear-and-tear were reducing his production. While he played until 2005, he never again gained over a thousand yards rushing or two thousand yards from scrimmage. For his career, he rushed for 12,279 yards and 100 touchdowns and caught 767 passes for 6875 yards and another 36 TDs. At the time, his 19,190 total yards ranked sixth all-time and 136 TDs placed fourth. Faulk was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2011.

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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).

[Updated 2/4/14]
[Updated 11/29/14]

1985: Breakers Beat Express for First Win in Portland

On March 2, 1985 the United States Football League’s Portland Breakers played their first regular season home game in their third different host city in as many years. The franchise started off as the Boston Breakers in 1983, playing in the 20,535-seat Nickerson Field, and then moved to New Orleans and the significantly larger Louisiana Superdome for ’84. However, the USFL’s planned move to the fall for 1986 forced the franchise to uproot again and head for the Pacific Northwest, which had last hosted a World Football League team in 1974 and ’75.

The Breakers had an offense-minded coach in Dick Coury, but coming off a disappointing 8-10 record in ’84 they were without retired veteran QB John Walton and had just lost RB Marcus Dupree with a season-ending knee injury in the opening contest. The capable RB Buford Jordan (pictured above) was still available, however, and QB Doug Woodward, backup to Walton, inherited the starting role behind center. The Breakers lost at Arizona in a low-scoring 9-7 game in Week 1.

Their opponent for the first Portland home game was the Los Angeles Express. The headliner for Head Coach John Hadl’s team was QB Steve Young, who had signed a huge contract to join the club as a rookie in 1984 and had an immediate good effect on the offense. With a good stable of running backs, plus the USFL’s fifth-ranked defense over the course of the previous year, the Express appeared to be in good shape entering the season. LA barely lost to the Houston Gamblers by a 34-33 score in the opening week.

There were 25,232 fans in attendance at Civic Stadium, which had a capacity of 32,500, on a cool and clear Saturday evening. They saw the lead change four times in the low-scoring contest. With just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Express got on the board first thanks to a Tony Zendejas field goal from 31 yards out.

On the first play of the second quarter, RB Vince Williams took a handoff and pitched the ball back to Doug Woodward who then threw to WR Frank Lockett all alone in the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown. It was Portland’s first touchdown pass of the young season.

Later in the period, LA regained the lead by 10-7 thanks to a nine-play, 64-yard drive that ended with Steve Young running for an eight-yard TD. Despite the ability of the Express to move the ball well, that was it until five seconds into the fourth quarter when Buford Jordan ran off tackle for a four-yard touchdown.

LA threatened twice in the final minutes of the game. LB David Howard recovered a Jordan fumble at the Portland 26 with 4:32 remaining on the clock, but RB Robert Alexander fumbled the ball back shortly thereafter with safety Joe Restic of the Breakers recovering at the eight. Getting one last shot, time ran out as WR Duane Gunn caught a pass from Young for a 21-yard gain to the Portland four.  The Breakers held on to win by a score of 14-10.

Los Angeles led in total yards (399 to 323) and first downs (21 to 16). However, the Express also turned the ball over four times, to one suffered by the Breakers.

Doug Woodward completed 11 of 20 passes for 185 yards and a touchdown with none intercepted. Buford Jordan ran effectively, gaining 110 yards on 17 carries and scoring the game-winning TD. Frank Lockett was the top receiver with three catches for 94 yards and a score.

For the Express, Steve Young was successful on 15 of 26 throws for 203 yards with no TDs and one interception but also rushed for 110 yards on 13 attempts that included a score. Duane Gunn had 4 pass receptions for 95 yards.

“We beat ourselves,” said John Hadl. “We made entirely too many mistakes when we were inside the 20 yard line. We can’t rely on Steve Young running the ball every time to save us.”

There were plenty of positive reactions to the new Portland fan base.

“This is a big-league city,” said Dick Coury. “People don’t realize it, but they should.”

“I loved it because the stadium echoed a lot,” said an enthused Buford Jordan of the home crowd. “It sounded like a lot more than 25,000.”

“They had a great crowd tonight,” added Steve Young. “It seems they might have a lot of fun here with this team.”

Things did not go so well overall for the Breakers, who continued to have difficulty putting points on the board and ended up fifth in the Western Conference with a 6-12 record. The high hopes of the Express faded into oblivion. A rash of injuries, combined with financial problems that made it difficult to replenish the depleted roster as the season wore on, caused LA to drop to the bottom of the conference at 3-15.

Rookie of the Year: Joe Cribbs, 1980

Running Back, Buffalo Bills

Age: 22

College: Auburn

Height: 5’11” Weight: 190

Prelude:

Buffalo’s running game had been subpar in 1979 with Terry Miller as the feature back, and the Bills took Cribbs in the second round of the ’80 NFL draft. Small but versatile – and having gained 4561 all-purpose yards and scored 34 touchdowns in college - it was anticipated that he would at least initially return kicks, but he quickly moved into the starting lineup as well.

1980 Season Summary

Appeared in all 16 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing

Attempts – 306 [4]

Most attempts, game - 30 (for 90 yds.) vs. Oakland 9/28, (for 118 yds.) vs. New England 10/26

Yards – 1185 [6, tied with Tony Dorsett]

Most yards, game – 128 yards (on 18 carries) at San Francisco 12/21

Average gain – 3.9

TDs – 11 [3, tied with Tony Dorsett & Curtis Dickey]

100-yard rushing games – 3

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 52      

Most receptions, game – 9 (for 71 yds.) vs. Miami 9/7

Yards – 415

Most yards, game - 71 (on 9 catches) vs. Miami 9/7

Average gain – 8.0

TDs – 1

Kickoff Returns

Returns – 2

Yards – 39

Average per return – 19.5

TDs – 0

Punt Returns

Returns – 29 [18, tied with Keith Wright]

Yards – 154

Most yards, game – 46 (on 3 ret.) at NY Jets 11/9

Average per return – 5.3

TDs – 0

Longest return – 16 yards

All-Purpose yards – 1793 [5]

Passing

Attempts – 1

Completions – 1

Yards – 13

TDs – 0

Scoring

TDs – 12 [5]

Points – 72

Postseason: 1 G (AFC Divisional playoff at San Diego)

Rushing attempts – 18

Rushing yards – 53

Average gain rushing – 2.9

Rushing TDs – 0

Pass receptions – 4

Pass receiving yards - 36

Average yards per reception – 9.0

Pass Receiving TDs - 0

Awards & Honors:

AFC Rookie of the Year: UPI

1^st-team All-AFC: UPI, Pro Football Weekly

Pro Bowl

Bills went 11-5 to finish first in the AFC East with their first winning season in five years. Lost AFC Divisional playoff to San Diego Chargers (20-14).

Aftermath:

Cribbs followed up his outstanding rookie season by gaining 1700 yards from scrimmage in 1981 (1097 rushing, 603 receiving) and was again selected to the Pro Bowl. Due to a contract holdout, he missed the first two games of the strike-shortened ’82 season but was effective upon the resumption of play with 633 rushing yards in seven games, although his productivity as a receiver out of the backfield dropped considerably. Cribbs rebounded in 1983 with 1131 rushing yards and 524 more yards on 57 pass receptions, garnering a third Pro Bowl selection. He jumped to the Birmingham Stallions of the USFL in 1984 and led the spring league in rushing with 1467 yards while also catching 39 passes for 500 yards. He gained a further 1047 rushing yards and caught 41 passes in 1985. With the demise of the USFL, Cribbs returned to the Bills during the ’85 season before moving on to San Francisco for two years in a part-time role. His career came to an end in a 1988 season split between the Colts and Dolphins. In the NFL, Cribbs rushed for 5356 yards and 27 TDs on 1309 carries (4.1 avg.) and caught 224 passes for 2199 yards and 15 touchdowns. With the USFL, he rushed for 2514 yards on 564 attempts (4.5 avg.) and 15 TDs and had 80 catches for 787 yards and six TDs.

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were named Rookie of the Year in the NFL, AFL (1960-69), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press – Offense or Defense, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, or the league itself – Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year). 

[Updated 2/4/14]

1964: Eagles Hire Joe Kuharich as Head Coach

After having won the 1960 NFL Championship and contending strongly in ’61, the Philadelphia Eagles endured last-place finishes in 1962 and ’63. In January of 1964, 37-year-old construction executive Jerry Wolman’s purchase of the franchise was approved by the league and he immediately fired Head Coach Nick Skorich. Saying that he would “hire the best professional coach available”, Wolman conducted an extensive coaching search over the next several weeks. Among those rumored as possibilities for the job were ex-Eagles QB Norm Van Brocklin, who was the head coach in Minnesota; Paul Brown, who had been inactive since being fired by the Browns following the ’62 season; Otto Graham, former star quarterback in Cleveland who was coaching collegiately at the Coast Guard Academy; Weeb Ewbank, ex- Colts head coach now in the AFL with the New York Jets; and a former Eagles coach, Jim Trimble, who was currently coaching in Canada. 

On February 27, 1964 Wolman introduced Joe Kuharich as the new head coach of the Eagles (Kuharich shown at left in picture at top, with Wolman to his right). The hiring raised questions from the start. The 46-year-old Kuharich had most recently been the NFL’s supervisor of officials in 1963, a year after he had left the head coaching job at Notre Dame, where he had compiled a losing record of 17-23 in four seasons.

Kuharich, a guard, had played collegiately at Notre Dame and professionally with the Chicago Cardinals before entering the coaching ranks. He was most successful with the University of San Francisco, where his 1951 team went undefeated,  before moving on to the Chicago Cardinals, Washington Redskins, and Notre Dame. In one season with the Cards, they went 4-8, and while the Redskins had an 8-4 record in 1955, overall Washington was 26-32-2 in five years under Kuharich’s direction.  The unprecedented losing record with the Fighting Irish made his future coaching prospects appear dim.

NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle had been public relations director at the University of San Francisco during Kuharich’s tenure there, where they had become friends, and it was widely rumored that Rozelle had pressured Wolman to hire Kuharich when the coaching job became available. While the rumor was denied by all parties, it poisoned the atmosphere for Kuharich in Philadelphia from the start.

Kuharich was initially hired to a four-year contract. When asked if he was concerned about not being Wolman’s first choice, the new coach indicated that “it doesn’t concern me in the least.” Holdover Vince McNally was to remain as general manager, but he resigned just prior to the ’64 regular season.

Kuharich’s teams had featured strong running games, but he indicated from the start that he wanted the Eagles to adopt a more wide-open style.  He also made a series of major trades that radically reconstructed the roster. Gone were QB Sonny Jurgensen, flanker Tommy McDonald, FB Clarence Peaks, HB Ted Dean, OT J.D. Smith, DB Jimmy Carr, and LB Lee Roy Caffey. In their place arrived QB Norm Snead from the Redskins, C Jim Ringo and FB Earl Gros from Green Bay, flanker Red Mack and DB Glenn Glass from the Steelers, DE Don Hultz and split end Ray Poage from Minnesota, and veteran all-purpose kicker Sam Baker from the Cowboys, who was accompanied by DT John Meyers and offensive lineman Lynn Hoyem in the McDonald trade. In the deal that sent Smith to Detroit, the Eagles obtained promising DT Floyd Peters and aging HB Ollie Matson, who had played for Kuharich at USF. In addition, the Eagles had drafted OT Bob Brown out of Nebraska in the first round and also added highly-mobile QB Jack Concannon from Boston College in the second.  There was some fine holdover talent in HB Timmy Brown, who had set records for all-purpose yards in each of the previous two seasons, TE Pete Retzlaff, and MLB Dave Lloyd, among others.

The refurbished Eagles started the 1964 season off with an impressive 38-7 win over the declining Giants on their way to a 6-8 record. Snead had a decent year, although when given a late-season opportunity to start against the Cowboys, Concannon put on an exciting show with his flashy running ability while tossing two TD passes. When Timmy Brown went down with an injury, Matson played well in relief. 17^th round draft pick Mike Morgan moved into the starting lineup at outside linebacker and undrafted free agent safety Joe Scarpati was a pleasant surprise. Baker even set a new club record with 16 field goals.

While the Eagles failed to beat anyone of consequence, they were an improved team and a satisfied Jerry Wolman took the step of signing Kuharich to a 15-year contract as general manager. It was another eyebrow-raising move that would become a point of derision in the years ahead.

The team dropped to 5-9 in 1965 as the often-productive offense was offset by a defensive line that, while benefiting from the play of Peters at tackle, was poor at rushing the passer and necessitated a heavy blitzing scheme to compensate, thus putting additional pressure on the backs. The All-Pro linebacker Baughan complained and was dealt to the Rams after the season, soon followed by star CB Irv Cross. The deals highlighted the growing friction between Kuharich and talented veterans with strong personalities that led to questionable trades.

His many malapropisms, such as “We’re planning not only for the future, but for the ensuing seasons, too” and “It’s a horse of a different fire department”, combined with his tendency to talk in circles when answering questions from reporters added to the negative perception of the coach.

The Eagles put together a surprising 9-5 record in 1966 which belied several glaring weaknesses. First, Kuharich’s handling of quarterbacks, always a source of concern, came to a head as Snead, who had problems with consistency even in his best years, struggled and was benched in favor of backups King Hill and Concannon. Insisting that he had “three starting quarterbacks”, Kuharich often kept the trio in the dark up until game time as to which would be starting. While the running game was effective, with a fine stable of backs supplemented by the exciting Concannon when he was in the lineup, the passing attack suffered accordingly. And while Scarpati enjoyed a good season at free safety, the Eagles were vulnerable defensively to teams with strong passing attacks. Despite the winning record, they were outscored 326 to 340. They earned an appearance in the Playoff Bowl, the postseason exhibition game between second place teams in each conference, and lost to the Colts.

Kuharich made more major trades in the offseason, dealing Concannon to the Bears for TE Mike Ditka and Earl Gros to Pittsburgh for flanker Gary Ballman. Snead responded with an outstanding year, but spent much of it on his back as injuries depleted the offensive line, most notably the star tackle Bob Brown. While split end Ben Hawkins had a breakout year, leading the league in pass receiving yards (1265), and FB Tom Woodeshick more than adequately replaced Gros as the starting fullback, the Eagles ended up back under .500 with a 6-7-1 record.

The Eagles crashed in an ugly 1968 season that culminated in a 2-12 record and had Kuharich at odds with many of the players, most notably Ditka and Ballman. “Joe Must Go” buttons were worn by disaffected fans who booed the beleaguered coach unmercifully, and the local sportswriters, with whom the coach always had an uneasy relationship, were quick to fan the flames. In the meantime, Wolman had gone bankrupt and was forced to sell the club to local trucker Leonard Tose. Tose fired Kuharich, who had 11 years left on his contract.

Joe Kuharich’s overall record in five years coaching the Eagles was 28-41-1 and contained just the one winning season. His legacy of questionable trades and poor handling of personnel overshadowed any successes he had. 

MVP Profile: Derrick Brooks, 2002

Linebacker, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Age:  29

8^th season in pro football & with Buccaneers

College: Florida State

Height: 6’0”   Weight: 235

Prelude:

The Buccaneers took Brooks in the first round of the 1995 NFL draft, and he moved into the lineup at OLB and was second on the team with 79 tackles as a rookie. Steady and solid, with outstanding range, he was selected to the Pro Bowl for the first of 10 straight years in his third season. He was used effectively both against the run and in pass coverage and regularly led the team in tackles. The defense fueled Tampa Bay’s rise into a contender, although Brooks was coming off a 2001 season in which he played hurt for most of the season.

2002 Season Summary

Appeared in all 16 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Sacks – 1

Interceptions – 5 [10, tied with five others]

Most interceptions, game – One on 5 occasions

Int. yards – 218 [3]

Most int. return yards, game – 97 (on 1 int.) at Baltimore 9/15

Int. TDs – 3 [1]

Fumble recoveries – 1

Fumble recovery TDs – 1

Forced fumbles – 1

Tackles – 88

Assists – 31

Scoring

TDs – 4

Points – 24

Postseason: 3 G

Sacks – 0.5

Interceptions – 2

Int. return yards – 44

TD – 1

Awards & Honors:

NFL Defensive Player of the Year: AP

1^st team All-NFL: AP, PFWA, Sporting News

1^st team All-NFC: Pro Football Weekly

Pro Bowl

Buccaneers went 12-4 to finish first in the NFC South while leading the NFL in total defense (4044 yards allowed), passing defense (2490 yards), fewest points allowed (196), and touchdowns allowed (18). Won NFC Divisional playoff over San Francisco 49ers (31-6), NFC Championship over Philadelphia Eagles (27-10), and Super Bowl over Oakland Raiders (48-21).

Aftermath:

Brooks continued to excel and was a consensus first-team All-Pro again in 2004 and ’05. His career finally came to an end when he was released by the Bucs following the 2008 season – still having been chosen to the Pro Bowl for the 11^th time. Over the course of 14 seasons, Brooks had 13.5 sacks, 25 interceptions that he returned for 530 yards and 6 touchdowns, and over 1300 tackles.

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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself). Also includes Associated Press NFL Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year.

[Updated 2/4/14]