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

July 24, 2024

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

I can’t imagine a list of all-time greats from any football franchise that does not include a quarterback. The position as fans know it today is vastly different than it was 40-plus years ago when I started watching the game. Yet, it remains the most important position on the field, and, despite all the revolutions that have come to football over the last four decades, I don’t ever see that changing.

While this selection for my All-time Eagles may be the most flawed and perhaps the most questioned, he was also the most exciting player I ever watched play for the Birds. Just one slot away from my top choice, the second member of my “Eagles Mount Rushmore” is:

Randall Cunningham

Dubbed “The Ultimate Weapon” by Sports Illustrated, Cunningham may not have been the first running quarterback in the NFL, but he was one of the forerunners who turned the position into its current form. Highlights of Cunningham dodging Carl Banks only to flip a touchdown pass to Jimmy Giles on Monday Night Football, or scrambling around in the Eagles end zone in Buffalo to find Fred Barnett for a 95-yard touchdown pass, are just a couple of the plays that come to mind when thinking of the quarterback. The athleticism he displayed was just unheard of in the 1980s and ‘90s. I can remember Cunningham as a rookie coming into games on third down to replace Ron Jaworski at quarterback to offer the dual threat of running or passing.

While Cunningham ranks third in passing yards (22,877) as an Eagle behind Donovan McNabb (32,873) and Jaworski (26,963), he played 26 and 20 games less (respectively) for Philadelphia. Factor in Cunningham’s rushing yards (4,482) versus McNabb’s (3,249), and I think his impact comes into focus a little more. (“Jaws” had 772 – leave the guy alone, it was a different game!) Cunningham was also second in game-winning drives with 21, one shy of McNabb and one ahead of Jaworski.

Oh, and let’s not forget Cunningham once dropped back and punted the ball 91 yards.

Cunningham had his quirks – from gold-tipped shoelaces to holding hands in the huddle. He also had the first player’s TV show that I was ever aware of. It was actually pretty cool, I thought, on Friday or Saturday nights during the season with Lou Tilley on Channel 3. The quarterback would come out throwing mini footballs to the studio audience. Channel 10, which had the rights to NFC games, eventually took it over, and, I believe, the show tanked.

The lack of quality coaching Cunningham received in Philadelphia was almost criminal. Buddy Ryan pretty much told him to go out and make three or four plays a game, and let the defense do the rest. Then, Rich Kotite, who once blamed the fact that his chart got wet for messing up a decision to try a 2-point conversion, took over and tried to shove Cunningham into the “West Coast Offense.”

Cunningham faced other obstacles to success in Philadelphia, including a strike-shortened season, a season ending injury in the first game of 1991, and the still unfathomable “Fog Bowl.” (It still makes me shake my head! Frikkin’ fog!?)

In the end, this choice comes down to the proverbial “eye test.” Randall Cunningham did things that made fans’ eyes pop in ways no one else ever has in Philadelphia. Debate the numbers if you like, though I think Cunningham measures up just fine statistically, his unique abilities make him the second choice on my Eagles Mount Rushmore.