Randall Cunningham & why can't Philly ever appreciate their quarterbacks

by Luxury_Used_Vehicles_By_Braman on Aug 20, 2009 10:00 AM EDT

Good article on Moving the Chains where an old hero of ours drops his two cents on Vick.

I honestly haven't thought about Randall Cunningham in some time, and this led me to go read his bio on wikipedia. I found two interesting excerpts I wanted to share.

First off, even Super Bowl champion, 3-time NFL MVP quarterbacks get benched during games when they are not performing:

Cunningham led the league with a 106.0 passer rating while the Vikings posted a then-NFL record 556 points during the 1998 season. Cunningham claimed the Vikings Monday night 37-24 victory over the Green Bay Packers was, "the greatest night of his career". Cunningham threw for 442 yards and 4 touchdowns in a game where Brett Favre, in the prime of his career, was benched at the end of the first half.

I never really thought McNabb's benching last year was a big deal. If your star pitcher is in a slump, you pull him. I think the media blew it out of proportion, but McNabb didn't help either any time he talked about it, you could tell how bitter he was.

And then there was this one. I had completely forgotten about this monumental "Our Past vs Our Future" game until now:

One notable occurrence during his time with the Cowboys was a return to Philadelphia. Cunningham started the game and dueled the new Eagles quarterback, Donovan McNabb. The game was decided in overtime, with an Eagles field goal giving them the 16-13 victory. Cunningham was given a standing ovation by the usually tough Philadelphia crowd.

So to my boy, Randall Cunningham, who was at the helm of the team when I came into my own as an Eagles fan, here's a fisted double chest-pump to you.