Tuesday, October 9, 2012

The Philadelphia Eagles and the Greasy Years

Authentic Notre Dame Football Jersey, Fans of the Philadelphia Eagles have, in recent years, suffered through many disappointments and heartaches as they watch their team struggle to find its way into the elite echelon of professional football. The Eagles, first founded in 1933 when Bert Bell was allowed to buy into the National Football League, have - at times - seemed poised to surge past their competitors in the National Football Conference and win that Super Bowl trophy that has for so long eluded them. Their only two appearances to date - in 1980 and 2004 - both resulted in losses. In fact, their best years, some would argue, came during the era of Head Coach Earle \"Greasy\" Neale.

The Eagles and the Draft
Before Neale arrived to coach the team, the Eagles had struggled mightily. Wins were scarce, and it was difficult for the new team to recruit the talent it needed to build a foundation for future success. By 1935, Bell had come up with an idea that he thought could provide his team with a vehicle for improvement - Authentic Notre Dame Football Jersey but which he sold to the NFL as an opportunity to spread the talent of the NFL across a greater number of teams. It was perhaps the first real attempt at achieving parity. The idea, which was to have teams draft players from college in accordance with those teams\' performance in the last season, was adopted and still remains a vital part of the sport today. Unfortunately, the Eagles wasted their first selection by choosing a running back who never wanted to play professional football.

Neale builds a team
The implementation of the college draft would have profound implications for the Philadelphia Eagles, however, with the arrival of Greasy Neale. Beginning in 1941, the Eagles made personnel choices that were far wiser than those made in the 1930s. It would ultimately be the quality of these players and the innovative coaching style of Neale that would build a team that would prove to be dominant throughout a good part of the 1940s. It took only three years for Neale\'s Eagles to rise to second place in their division. Three years after that, they had won their very first title in the division. His players, including such Eagles greats as Tommy Thompson and Steve van Buren, were instrumental in elevating the team from perennial league lapdog to championship contender. In fact, the end of the decade saw the Eagles play in three straight NFL title games - two of which they won. Those Championships, in 1948 and 1949, were a high water mark for the Eagles franchise, and made the Eagles the only team in NFL history to Authentic Notre Dame Football Jersey win consecutive shutout titles, as neither the Cardinals nor the Rams could score against the vaunted Eagles defense.
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Defense and Legacy
Neale\'s defense was, of course, legendary. The so called \"Eagle Defense\" was copied and implemented by other teams in the NFL for many years, and eventually evolved into what is now known as the 4-3 - a defense that many teams still use to this day. For his work with the Eagles and his many contributions to the sport, Neale was honored with induction into the Hall of Fame in 1969.