Post by EagleGene on Aug 6, 2006 9:58:03 GMT -5
Fond Memories As Reggie Enters 'Hall'
August 5, 2006
By ZACH BERMAN
Jeffrey Lurie's first thought when he heard the Philadelphia Eagles were available to acquire was "Reggie White's franchise." He knew about the city and appreciated the passionate fan base, but the Eagles chairman/CEO admitted that when he first heard about the Eagles' availability in the early 1990s, he associated it with the late White.
It's that same association that makes this weekend particularly special for Eagles fans. White, the legendary defensive end, played the first eight seasons of his 15-year career in Philadelphia. While he finished his career with the Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, there is an uncanny connection between White and Eagles fans.
On Saturday, White was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On Sunday, the Eagles will play in the Hall of Fame Game against the Oakland Raiders to conclude the weekend. There were a barrage of kelly green No. 92 jerseys in Canton, Ohio, and even more stories about the way White, who died on Dec. 26, 2004, touched an entire fan base and became the face of the organization.
***
Lurie purchased the Eagles in 1994, two years after White departed for Green Bay in free agency. The way Lurie sees it, he was two years too late. Lurie admitted he was frustrated that White never played with the Eagles under his leadership, though the organization and White maintained a relationship.
On Dec. 5, 2005, the Eagles retired White's No. 92. But Saturday's festivities marked the highest honor White could receive.
"This is sort of the penultimate moment, this weekend, where he gets what every player dreams of," Lurie said. "We just hit it off from the first moment we ever met. I think it was on the field in Green Bay and ever since then he would always visit in the off-season, come by the offices, talk about how to build a team with integrity and class, how to re-sign players."
White's departure from the franchise marked a tough time for the franchise, a lull of mediocrity that has since been broken under head coach Andy Reid. But Lurie used White's exodus as an indication of the importance of re-signing players.
The Eagles' organizational philosophy includes an emphasis on keeping drafted talent with the franchise, and White's success after leaving the Eagles -- including a Super Bowl title with the Packers in Super Bowl XXXI -- served as some of the motivation.
"It's been our philosophy, partly because you saw there was a guy (who was) an incredible, incredible player and person and there he is leaving for another franchise," Lurie said. "To me, that was just not something you'd ever want to see happen.
"It just happened. You know how chemistry happens. It happened and I think there was a mutual respect and I'm just delighted to be a little bit a part of watching this weekend's festivities."
***
When Lurie hired Reid to become the Eagles' head coach in 1999, Reid was a little-known quarterbacks coach with the Packers, where he knew White well.
Four years later, Reid hired Marty Mornhinweg as his assistant head coach and Mornhinweg took over the offensive coordinator duties in January. From 1995-1996, Mornhinweg was a coach with the Packers, where he was also familiar with White. He then moved to the San Francisco 49ers as their offensive coordinator from 1997-2000, game-planning against White coming off the edge.
"Reggie White is one of those unique players that all by himself you would have to gameplan several things to keep him at bay because he could wreck the whole offensive gameplan, single-handedly, by himself," Mornhinweg said. "We had to get two tight ends over there. We had to cut him and jump him with another guy.
"We had to get a back right over there with a tackle, and then in many cases triple-teaming him because he was that good. He was one of the very best players I have ever seen in this game."
Gameplan for him or gameplan with him, White helped make defensive end a glamorous position. He accumulated 124 career sacks with the Eagles and earned 13 Pro Bowl appearances overall.
And he was the ultimate clutch player. In Super Bowl XXXI, White recorded three sacks.
White also became the benchmark for the position, and it's his profile that emerging defensive ends yearn to reach.
"You're looking at the greatest player at his position to play the game," Reid said. "He kind of redefined that thing. I'm not sure he redefined it because I'm not sure there's another one out there like him. He was so big, strong and fast he was able to take over football games. He did that a number of times. He always seemed to do that during crunch time, right when you needed it done."
As prolific as White was, those who knew him gush endlessly about his off-the-field persona. He had a raspy voice, and his words carried significant weight. When he said something meaningful, it was magnified. When he said something controversial, it was scrutinized.
Regardless, he never wavered. He was steadfast to his convictions, for better or worse, and he always sought to carry himself with the utmost dignity.
"What he preached he lived by," Reid said. "We talk about walking the walk, or however it goes, but he did that."
White's known for his spirituality -- his nickname, after all, was the "Minister of Defense" -- but Mornhinweg recalled his sense of humor. He had a reputation as a prankster, and when Mornhinweg was with the Packers, the coach witnessed it first hand.
"The guy could make people laugh," Mornhinweg said. "He had a certain way about him to where everybody loved him. Everybody loved him; everybody loved the guy because he had that personality and that great sense of humor."
***
When Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb first met White, he figured it would be a forgettable meeting for the Hall of Famer. Shake hands, small talk and be on their way. But the 30-second conversation turned into a minute. Then five minutes. Then 10. Fifteen minutes. Finally 20 minutes, and White was still talking, still preaching, still dispensing advice and experience.
For a player like McNabb, it was White's overall package that deserved emulation. He was a star on the field and knew how to handle the attention off the field.
McNabb and White dealt with similar situations, playing at Pro Bowl levels and dealing with suffocating attention. The Eagles count on their franchise quarterback to maintain a certain level of class, and he looks at White as a measuring point.
"You have a guy that was a role model, a guy that was great in the community, a guy that kids could look up to and say, 'You know what? I want to be just like Reggie,'" McNabb said. "He handled himself with class; he was a professional at all times. That's how you measure an individual, I think, in this sport."
White spoke at McNabb's church in the Chicago area "about two-to-three years ago." McNabb and White ate dinner together, with McNabb listening closely. White was a teacher, and the lessons stretched beyond the difficulties of third-and-eight.
"It goes way beyond sacking quarterbacks or tackles for losses, in his case," McNabb said. "It's about a guy that you can sit down and talk to, no matter who you are, and won't have to worry about Reggie turning his back or just telling you something you want to hear to make you feel good. He will give you inspirational words and when the conversation is over, you feel better about life."
***
Everyone around the Eagles seems to have their own White story.
Free safety Brian Dawkins discussed a retreat they attended together. Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson remembers watching White and analyzes how effective the Hall of Famer would be in his aggressive schemes. Radio play-by-play man Merrill Reese conducted interviews on the sidelines during training camp recalling his memories of White.
He's beloved by fans, emulated by players, remembered by coaches.
There's an especially soft spot in Lurie's heart for White. Lurie has visited the baseball, basketball and hockey Hall of Fame. Never football, though. His first time was on Saturday.
For one day, the Eagles became "Reggie White's franchise" again.
August 5, 2006
By ZACH BERMAN
Jeffrey Lurie's first thought when he heard the Philadelphia Eagles were available to acquire was "Reggie White's franchise." He knew about the city and appreciated the passionate fan base, but the Eagles chairman/CEO admitted that when he first heard about the Eagles' availability in the early 1990s, he associated it with the late White.
It's that same association that makes this weekend particularly special for Eagles fans. White, the legendary defensive end, played the first eight seasons of his 15-year career in Philadelphia. While he finished his career with the Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, there is an uncanny connection between White and Eagles fans.
On Saturday, White was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On Sunday, the Eagles will play in the Hall of Fame Game against the Oakland Raiders to conclude the weekend. There were a barrage of kelly green No. 92 jerseys in Canton, Ohio, and even more stories about the way White, who died on Dec. 26, 2004, touched an entire fan base and became the face of the organization.
***
Lurie purchased the Eagles in 1994, two years after White departed for Green Bay in free agency. The way Lurie sees it, he was two years too late. Lurie admitted he was frustrated that White never played with the Eagles under his leadership, though the organization and White maintained a relationship.
On Dec. 5, 2005, the Eagles retired White's No. 92. But Saturday's festivities marked the highest honor White could receive.
"This is sort of the penultimate moment, this weekend, where he gets what every player dreams of," Lurie said. "We just hit it off from the first moment we ever met. I think it was on the field in Green Bay and ever since then he would always visit in the off-season, come by the offices, talk about how to build a team with integrity and class, how to re-sign players."
White's departure from the franchise marked a tough time for the franchise, a lull of mediocrity that has since been broken under head coach Andy Reid. But Lurie used White's exodus as an indication of the importance of re-signing players.
The Eagles' organizational philosophy includes an emphasis on keeping drafted talent with the franchise, and White's success after leaving the Eagles -- including a Super Bowl title with the Packers in Super Bowl XXXI -- served as some of the motivation.
"It's been our philosophy, partly because you saw there was a guy (who was) an incredible, incredible player and person and there he is leaving for another franchise," Lurie said. "To me, that was just not something you'd ever want to see happen.
"It just happened. You know how chemistry happens. It happened and I think there was a mutual respect and I'm just delighted to be a little bit a part of watching this weekend's festivities."
***
When Lurie hired Reid to become the Eagles' head coach in 1999, Reid was a little-known quarterbacks coach with the Packers, where he knew White well.
Four years later, Reid hired Marty Mornhinweg as his assistant head coach and Mornhinweg took over the offensive coordinator duties in January. From 1995-1996, Mornhinweg was a coach with the Packers, where he was also familiar with White. He then moved to the San Francisco 49ers as their offensive coordinator from 1997-2000, game-planning against White coming off the edge.
"Reggie White is one of those unique players that all by himself you would have to gameplan several things to keep him at bay because he could wreck the whole offensive gameplan, single-handedly, by himself," Mornhinweg said. "We had to get two tight ends over there. We had to cut him and jump him with another guy.
"We had to get a back right over there with a tackle, and then in many cases triple-teaming him because he was that good. He was one of the very best players I have ever seen in this game."
Gameplan for him or gameplan with him, White helped make defensive end a glamorous position. He accumulated 124 career sacks with the Eagles and earned 13 Pro Bowl appearances overall.
And he was the ultimate clutch player. In Super Bowl XXXI, White recorded three sacks.
White also became the benchmark for the position, and it's his profile that emerging defensive ends yearn to reach.
"You're looking at the greatest player at his position to play the game," Reid said. "He kind of redefined that thing. I'm not sure he redefined it because I'm not sure there's another one out there like him. He was so big, strong and fast he was able to take over football games. He did that a number of times. He always seemed to do that during crunch time, right when you needed it done."
As prolific as White was, those who knew him gush endlessly about his off-the-field persona. He had a raspy voice, and his words carried significant weight. When he said something meaningful, it was magnified. When he said something controversial, it was scrutinized.
Regardless, he never wavered. He was steadfast to his convictions, for better or worse, and he always sought to carry himself with the utmost dignity.
"What he preached he lived by," Reid said. "We talk about walking the walk, or however it goes, but he did that."
White's known for his spirituality -- his nickname, after all, was the "Minister of Defense" -- but Mornhinweg recalled his sense of humor. He had a reputation as a prankster, and when Mornhinweg was with the Packers, the coach witnessed it first hand.
"The guy could make people laugh," Mornhinweg said. "He had a certain way about him to where everybody loved him. Everybody loved him; everybody loved the guy because he had that personality and that great sense of humor."
***
When Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb first met White, he figured it would be a forgettable meeting for the Hall of Famer. Shake hands, small talk and be on their way. But the 30-second conversation turned into a minute. Then five minutes. Then 10. Fifteen minutes. Finally 20 minutes, and White was still talking, still preaching, still dispensing advice and experience.
For a player like McNabb, it was White's overall package that deserved emulation. He was a star on the field and knew how to handle the attention off the field.
McNabb and White dealt with similar situations, playing at Pro Bowl levels and dealing with suffocating attention. The Eagles count on their franchise quarterback to maintain a certain level of class, and he looks at White as a measuring point.
"You have a guy that was a role model, a guy that was great in the community, a guy that kids could look up to and say, 'You know what? I want to be just like Reggie,'" McNabb said. "He handled himself with class; he was a professional at all times. That's how you measure an individual, I think, in this sport."
White spoke at McNabb's church in the Chicago area "about two-to-three years ago." McNabb and White ate dinner together, with McNabb listening closely. White was a teacher, and the lessons stretched beyond the difficulties of third-and-eight.
"It goes way beyond sacking quarterbacks or tackles for losses, in his case," McNabb said. "It's about a guy that you can sit down and talk to, no matter who you are, and won't have to worry about Reggie turning his back or just telling you something you want to hear to make you feel good. He will give you inspirational words and when the conversation is over, you feel better about life."
***
Everyone around the Eagles seems to have their own White story.
Free safety Brian Dawkins discussed a retreat they attended together. Defensive coordinator Jim Johnson remembers watching White and analyzes how effective the Hall of Famer would be in his aggressive schemes. Radio play-by-play man Merrill Reese conducted interviews on the sidelines during training camp recalling his memories of White.
He's beloved by fans, emulated by players, remembered by coaches.
There's an especially soft spot in Lurie's heart for White. Lurie has visited the baseball, basketball and hockey Hall of Fame. Never football, though. His first time was on Saturday.
For one day, the Eagles became "Reggie White's franchise" again.