Tag Archives: philadelphia eagles

NFL

Barwin, Connor (2) ‘Kramer’

dor&s09 cbarwinCards: Donruss Rookies & Stars 2009, Donruss Gridiron 2009, Topps 2012
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o The Philadelphia Eagles
Sent:  9/22/15     Received: 2/5/16   (136 days)
See Also: Connor Barwin

A lesson in patience, Connor Barwin sports a near perfect response rate through Sportscollectors.net.  To get a better feel for when players respond, I always look at the date that they sign. Do they clump their signings around bye weeks? Do they sign after the season/ before the season? These are things to consider to properly understand your time frame for a response. I know Barwin is a stellar signer, and after a slightly longer than expected wait, the autographs rolled in.

do09 cbarwinWhile Barwin was playing in Houston in 2010, he blew out his ankle during the season opener against Indianapolis. He was in so much pain that it was really sad when they carted him from the field.  Later it was revealed that he was lost for the season. It struck me so deeply that I opened a Twitter account to wish him well and sent my first tweet to him. He recovered from his injury, and was converted to linebacker.

Connor had a banner year in 2011 under new defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, setting a personal best with 11.5 sacks.  Barwin frequently made a mess of the Jaguars, breaking the team record with 4 sacks in one game against Jacksonville.  2012 was a contract year for Barwin, and largely a down one if you consider only sacks.  The Texans hoped to resign him, but wanted to do so at a hometown discount.

to12 cbarwinUnderstanding his value, Barwin signed with the Eagles as a free agent in 2013. Ever gracious, Connor took out a legendary full page ad in the Houston Chronicle thanking the team, the fans, and even Blaine Gabbert (quarterback for Jacksonville at the time) for his time with the Texans.  Barwin has become a fixture in the Eagles defense.. He’d earn his first AP nomination in 2014 after recording 14.5 sacks, and followed that up in 2015 with another 7.

Considered the MVP of the defense, big things are expected of Barwin under new defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz in 2016.

 

NFL

Bishop, Blaine

to97 bishop bow96 bishopCards: Topps 1997 Hitmen, 1997 Bowman’s Best
Acquired: TTM 2015, C/o Home
Sent:  8/3   Received:  8/17   (14 days)

During the mid-90s, Blaine Bishop was one of the best strong safeties in the NFL. While his interceptions didn’t show it, he certainly made up for it with his ability to enforce at the line of scrimmage and nose for the ball in the box.

Blaine was drafted in the 8th and final round of the 1993 draft. A surprisingly deep draft, 6 players drafted in Round 8 made the ProBowl in their careers- more than any other round in that draft except for Round 1 (7) or Round 2 (also 6). Bishop was to provide depth for talented Houston Oilers secondary that already included Cris Dishman, Darryll Lewis, Mike Dumas, Steve Jackson, Marcus Robertson, Bo Orlando, and Bubba McDowell.  Bishop beat out former second round pick Mike Dumas and join the Oilers roster that season starting 2 games for the team. As the team imploded in 1994 with the implementation of the salary cap, Coach Jack Pardee resigned under fire. Defensive coordinator Jeff Fisher took over, and Bishop saw a more important role in the defense starting 13 games that season.  From 1995-1997 Blaine earned 3 Pro Bowl appearances, and joined the team when it commuted to Tennessee in 1997. He’d earn another Pro Bowl appearance in 2000, but an injury shortened 2001 ended any hopes of a repeat.  In 2002, Blaine played one final season with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Blaine, as of 2015, lives in the Nashville area where he does radio and sports commentary. One of the last connections to the Houston Oilers, I had been looking for a few cards for sometime that represented Blaine. Topps really upped their game with foil quality cards and the Hitmen series in the mid-90s have been some of my favorites from their collection.

G/Gs 138/120        Tac  544       Sac 15.5        Fum  11
Int 5     Yds 103      Avg 20.6       Td  1         Lg 62t

NFL, XFL

Johnson, Reggie

aprks91 rjohnson
Card: Action Packed Rookies 1991
Acquired: 2014, Albany Acquisition

Reggie Johnson appeared on the NFL scene quietly in 1991.  He finished his college career at Florida State with 52 receptions for 544 yards and a 10.5 yard average.  Johnson was the first tight end taken off the board at number 32 overall. He caught his first touchdown (since High School) in his first professional game against the Bengals in 1991.  It took another 30 games for him to catch another- in the season finale against the Chiefs in 1992. Reggie recorded a career high 20 receptions for 243 yards and a TD in 1993. He was cut by the Broncos due to the salary cap in 1994, and briefly was picked up by the Bengals. Over those next four seasons, Johnson played for the Packers (1994), Eagles (1995), Chiefs (1996), and Packers (1997) again before retiring. Over his career, Reggie was known as a good special teams player and goal line blocker. He returned briefly to play football  for the XFL Birmingham Thunderbolts in 2001.

Rec 66    Yds 791    Avg 12.0      Td  6      LG 48