Tag Archives: Carolina Panthers

NFL

Trudeau, Jack

Card: Proset 1990
Acquired: Colts Blitz 1992

Jack Trudeau. Now that is a walk down memory lane for Indianapolis Colts and fans of the original Tecmo Bowl game on the Nintendo. Trudeau was the slowest, and most ineffective quarterback in the original Tecmo Bowl game. He was incredibly easy to intercept. Let’s not forget the roster which had such notables as Pat Beach and Albert Bentley (since Eric Dickerson would not allow the makers to use his likeness). It was tantamount to insult if you beat somebody with the hapless Colts, and the easiest way to win with them was to kick 60 yard field goals with Dean Biasucci. That aside, you can tell the makers clearly based his ability on his statistical output, as Trudeau throughout 1987 shared quarterbacking duties with Gary Hogeboom, (yes the one from Survivor).

Again in 1988 and 1989, Jack shared QB duties, this time with Chris Chandler.  He’d then have to go toe to toe with cannon-armed overall #1 pick Jeff George in 1990.  (Oddly Trudeau never earned the respect of the Colts fans and from the organization, despite playing for the Fighting Illini in college.)  In 1994, he played for the Jets, and then was selected by the Carolina Panthers in their expansion draft (#56) where he served as the team’s 3rd team quarterback behind Frank Reich and rookie Kerry Collins. He retired after the 1995 season.

After retirement Trudeau bought a golf course and has been President of Enviro-Save USA, an environmentally conscious corporation that deals in fuel saving technology and production. He’s also garnered quite a following on the radio, where his morning talk show at WNDE AM 1260 (Indianapolis) was picked up in 2011 for national syndication.

Games   67         Att  1644        Comp 873     Yds  10243
TD 42        Int 69    Lg  82       Rat  63.3

NFL

Zgonina, Jeff

Cards: Fleer Premium 2002
Acquired: TTM, Texans Blitz 2009, C/o Houston Texans

/Scone- ina/ is roughly how you pronounce Jeff’s last name. An ironman journeyman Jeff Zgonina played in the NFL from 1993 to 2009, -or roughly 17 seasons for 7 teams. At 6-2, 285 he played on the interior line as both a NT and a change of pace DT.  Zgonina would play on the St. Louis Rams’ Super Bowl teams, after bouncing around, but would find his final home with the Houston Texans where he finished out his career after a short stint in Miami. (Zgonina was a fringe player who found himself frequently on the cusp of the final cut, or called back a week later when more room was made and despite his age, didn’t have as much wear on his tires as people thought.)  Zgonina will be best remembered by Houston Texans’ fans for when he recovered a Kerry Collins freak fumble against the Titans in 2009  for a victory. An outspoken member in the locker room, players could expect to hear the straight up truth from Jeff, and he provided guidance for the younger members of the defensive line.

G 219     Tac 308        Sac 26            Fum 13
Int  1               Yds  0       Avg 0.0        Td  0

NFL

Beuerlein, Steve

Cards: Action Packed 1992, Fleer 1990, ProSet 1990, ProSet 1992, ProSet Power 1992, Score 1989, Score 1990, Topps 1992, Upper Deck 1992.
Acquired: In Person, 1991-1992 Dallas Cowboys Training Camp. In Person, CGA Youth Golf Tournament 1993.

Steve defines accessibility and patience. When I went to Cowboys training camp, I found myself struggling to find new cards to purchase of Steve because he was a tireless signer who would autograph hundreds of cards after practice. Beuerlein was one of the better backups that the Cowboys had, and probably is the one of the better journeyman quarterbacks in NFL history.  A streaky passer,  Steve had his ups and downs, typically suiting up as second fiddle for around half his career.  He would go on to play or start for 6 teams over a 17 seasons including the Raiders, Cowboys, Cardinals, Jaguars, Panthers, and Broncos. Of small note, Steve was the first quarterback of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Steve would go to his only Pro Bowl in 1999 playing then for the Panthers, throwing for 36 touchdowns that year where he appeared out of nowhere, and stood a good chance of being MVP that year- if not for a certain somebody named Kurt Warner. He then disappeared under the radar again in 2000 but put up respectable numbers. Beuerlein signed with the Broncos and played back up behind Jake Plummer through 2003, but elected to resign with the Panthers on a one day contract so that he could retire with them. Since retirement Steve has taken up NFL broadcasting and is an avid golfer.

G 147      Att  1894       Comp 3328         Yds  24046
Td 147        Int 112          Rat 80.3