| For
most of their early existence, the Eagles found themselves in bad
positions. Usually that position was last place. But towards the end
of their existence, the Eagles found themselves in a much better place.
The Eagles captured the Jones Division crown in 1996, but they only
had a 7-6-1 record. It would turn out to be the only time the team
finished with a record over .500. The history of the Eagles has been
somewhat calm. Originally calling themselves the 49ers, the team did
not resemble their NFL counterparts. Ken O’Brien, Bo Jackson
and Alexander Wright would lead the team to 3-8 records in the league’s
first three seasons. The team would drop to 2-9 in 1993. Yet the 49ers
were building draft picks, and in 1994, chose running back Marshall
Faulk. Faulk would average 11.4 ppg for the Eagles and lead them to
the LDFL Championship Game in 1996. There they met the dominating
Hobbits, losing 72-51. Faulk would lead the league in points with
163 in 1994. The Eagles would add additional pieces to their team,
including quarterback Mark Brunell and wide receiver Jake Reed. The
two players contributed to the championship push in 1996. But the
Eagles decided to go into a rebuilding phase. Following the 1997 season,
the Eagles sent Faulk and Brunell to the Hoppers for Trent Dilfer
and James Stewart. The team dropped to 1-13 the following season,
relying on veteran quarterback Warren Moon and wide receiver Shannon
Sharpe. But things were not grim. Youngsters Kevin Johnson and Curtis
Enis joined forces with newly drafted quarterback Steve Beuerlein
to lead the team back to 7-7. Beuerlein led all quarterbacks with
266 points, a team record for a single season. But the lack of depth
hurt the team, and could not improve in 2000. Enis finished with only
7 points for the season; Beurelein’s production dropped and
the team crashed back to last place. The team was contracted following
the season, and the team’s tough history came to a close. |