My “Eagles Mount Rushmore” – All-time Eagles (Third Pick)

July 17, 2024

My “Eagles Mount Rushmore” – All-time Eagles (Third Pick)

It’s one of the slowest weeks on the sports calendar as baseball takes almost a week off for the All-Star Game. Yet, some local football fans are salivating at the thought of the Eagles opening training camp in mere days. More importantly, of course, it’s time to name another member of my all-time Eagles players.

Few players can truly dominate a football game from the defensive side of the ball. Yet, that’s exactly what the only defensive player on my “Eagles Mount Rushmore” did throughout his career. Working up to my top pick, the third member of my mountain is:

Reggie White

The defensive lineman was the cornerstone of Buddy Ryan’s “46” defense in Philadelphia that prioritized getting pressure on the opposing quarterback. Watching him practically throw blockers off him, sometimes with one arm, was a testament to his strength. His speed defied his size.

White’s 124 sacks with the Eagles makes him the franchise leader – 38.5 ahead of number two on the list, Trent Cole with 85.5. (Sacks were not an official stat until 1982.) White is second all-time in the NFL with 198 career sacks, just 2 behind Bruce Smith (200). That doesn’t include the 23.5 sacks White registered in two seasons with the Memphis Showboats of the original United States Football League.

It doesn’t seem like hyperbole to liken White to a great “clean up” hitter in baseball. He made everyone else on the defensive line better, the way a home-run hitter improves an entire lineup, because of the attention he received. Guys like Jerome Brown, Clyde Simmons, and Mike Golic, became household names in Philly, at least in part because they played alongside White. While offensive lines had to focus on White, the others had more freedom to wreak havoc.

Sadly, “The Minister of Defense,” as he was known because he was a minister, found his greatest football success in Green Bay. Ryan’s philosophy of building a dominant defense and hoping the offense made three or four big plays a game didn’t cut it in the playoffs. Norman Braman’s penny pinching ways as the Eagles owner led to White leaving Philadelphia for the Packers, where he would hoist the Lombardi Trophy, after free agency became an NFL reality.

Finishing his career in Carolina, the late, great Reggie White will forever be remembered as an Eagle. He was a no-brainer choice for my Eagles Mount Rushmore.