Eagles Determined to Beat Even the Fog

PHILADELPHIA —  The last time the Eagles were seen ... well, the Eagles weren’t really seen much at all. As the thick fog from Lake Michigan rolled over Soldier Field during the National Football Conference Championship game against the Chicago Bears last New Year’s Eve, so went the Eagles’ Super Bowl dream.

“That game just wasn’t meant to be ours,” said Randall Cunningham, Philadelphia’s All-Pro quarterback, as he recalled the bizarre 20-12 loss. “We know what would have happened if not for the fog; we were confident in ourselves. If it would have been played under normal conditions in the second half, we would have won the game.”

Even though the 1988 season ended on a strange and bitter note in the “Fog Bowl,” the Eagles’ season was still successful. Despite an erratic 4-5 start, the Eagles finished with a 10-6 record, won the NFC Eastern Division title and made their first trip to the playoffs since 1981, when they lost to New York Giants, 27-21, in an NFC wild-card game.

Now, as they enter their their fourth season under Buddy Ryan, many are predicting another NFC East championship, with several publications calling them the favorites in the Super Bowl Jan. 28 in New Orleans. While some teams would rather shy away from such high expectations, the Eagles are gladly accepting it.

“I’m expecting a lot; I don’t think I’ve ever lined up on a field more confident then I will be this year,” said wide receiver Mike Quick, an eight-year pro who missed half the 1988 season with a broken leg. “I just think we have all the ingredients, and I don’t think I could even say that before and be as confident as I am now.

“We’ve never had a team here with so many big-play potential guys, and I really believe we are going to go a long way,” he added. “It’s going to be up to the other teams to prove me wrong.”

Even Coach Ryan, who complained about the lack of talent when he first arrived in Philadelphia, is happy with the 47 players he will take into the season-opener Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks.

“This was the first time we really had to cut anyone since I’ve been here that I felt could go somewhere and play, and play well,” Ryan said. “So that must mean we’re getting better.”

The Eagles enter the season coming off a 4-1 preseason record, the team’s best since 1978 when they were a playoff wild-card team under Dick Vermeil. There was some concern early in camp with the holdouts of Quick, defensive tackle Mike Pitts and All-Pro defensive end Reggie White, but all three signed in time to see action in the team’s final preseason game last week, a 20-10 victory over Miami.

Of course, the Eagles are not without controversy. Ron Solt, a guard who was expected to start in his first full season in Philadelphia, was suspended for 30 days after testing positive for steroids.

And the most recent controversy is Ryan’s decision to have the Eagles run more this season to improve on their 121.6-yard average last season. His reason: many of the past Super Bowl losers lacked a sustained rushing attack.

But that philosophy is not sitting too well with Cunningham, the Pro Bowl MVP who was third in the league in both pass completions and passing yardage last season.

“It’s tough when they’re saying run the ball 50 percent of the time when your philosophy is to throw 70 percent and run 30 percent,” said Cunningham, who passed for 3,808 yards and 24 touchdowns (fourth in the NFL) in 1988. “In the preseason Buddy had me call my own plays, and the pressure was there for me to call running plays. But last year we won by throwing the ball, and this year we’ll probably win by throwing the ball again.”

While Ryan has irked Cunningham with the new emphasis on rushing, he has also showed confidence in his quarterback by allowing him to call the plays during the preseason. But it’s still unclear whether Cunningham or offensive coach Ted Plumb will be calling the shots in Sunday’s opener.

“I think it shows Randall’s progress as a quarterback,” Ryan said. “The toughest quarterbacks for me to beat when I coached defense were always the guys who called their own plays. We want to see if Randall is ready to progress to that level.”

Cunningham, who in the past called the plays during two-minute drills, said he is ready to accept the responsibility.

“We went 4-1 with me doing it so I must have been doing something right,” the fifth-year player out of Nevada-Las Vegas said. “I’m not sure when Buddy’s going to make up his mind; knowing him, it probably won’t be until Sunday.”

One thing that did please Cunningham during preseason was Quick’s signing before the Miami game. Quick, who had 22 catches for 508 yards and four touchdowns last season, said he needs no adjustment time to return to the form that has earned him five Pro Bowl berths.

“I don’t think missing camp was a problem at all; I got a lot of work in and did more running than I’m doing right now,” Quick said. “Missing all that I missed last year made me hungry to come back and play ball again. I feel like I have some unfinished business to do.”

Another favorite target of Cunningham should be second-year tight end Keith Jackson, The Sporting News Rookie of the Year last season and a starter in the Pro Bowl. His 81 catches set a club record.

“The best thing he can do now is go to the Super Bowl ... and if he does that he’s got to take some other guys with him, too,” Ryan said of Jackson. “The Pro Bowl is a lot easier to get to than the Super Bowl.”

On defense, third-year middle linebacker Byron Evans topped the team in preseason with 25 tackles, and fellow linebacker Seth Joyner had 15 tackles, one interception and two pass deflections.

“I wouldn’t trade (Joyner) for any other linebacker,” said Ryan, who formerly coached Mike Singletary of the Chicago Bears.

But for the Eagles to be successful it will have to be on the offensive side, and Cunningham is hopeful that his maturation will allow the team to take care of business that he felt was left unfinished on Soldier Field last year.

“We’re gonna shoot for the Super Bowl, but first we have to make the playoffs,” Cunningham said. “For us to do that, I’ll have to be more consistent.

“Sometimes I’ll have one good quarter, one bad quarter, and one average quarter,” he added. “I’d rather get to the point where I’m playing consistent the whole year. If I can, I think we can be a very good football team.”