Eagles quarterback Sam Bradford is on a quest to make history for the Eagles this season. Though he and the rest of the team will surely remain focused on the proverbial "one game at a time," the ultimate goal is higher. That means winning a Super Bowl.
Think about it, Sam Bradford winning a Super Bowl. With the S.B. initials, he seems born for it. In fact, Bradford's mission is to become the first S.B. to ever quarterback a Super Bowl champion. That is not to say that an S.B. has never won an NFL championship, which Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh accomplished in 1937 and 1942. But since the first Super Bowl in 1967 was won by the Green Bay Packers, led by quarterback Bart Starr and his reverse initials, an S.B. has never advanced beyond the divisional round. Call it the B.S. curse.
Over the course of NFL history, eight S.B.s have started an NFL game at quarterback, seven of them in the modern era. Between those seven, Steve Beuerlein, Scott Brunner and Steve Bartkowski each have one playoff victory to their credit. That's it. So Bradford has the opportunity to go where no S.B. has ever gone before.
S.B. QBs In NFL History | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Years | Record | Yds | TD | INT | Rate | Playoff Wins | |
Sammy Baugh | 1937-1952 | N/A | 21,886 | 187 | 203 | 72.2 | 2 NFL Champs |
Steve Bartkowski | 1975-1986 | 59-68 | 24,124 | 156 | 144 | 75.4 | 1 |
Scott Bull | 1976-1978 | 3-4 | 992 | 3 | 17 | 24.8 | 0 |
Scott Brunner | 1980-1985 | 12-18 | 6,457 | 29 | 54 | 56.3 | 1 |
Steve Bono | 1985-1999 | 28-14 | 10,439 | 62 | 42 | 75.3 | 0 |
Steve Bradley | 1987 | 0-1 | 77 | 2 | 3 | 45.1 | 0 |
Steve Beuerlein | 1988-2003 | 47-55 | 24,046 | 147 | 112 | 80.3 | 1 |
Sam Bradford | 2010-? | 18-30-1 | 11,065 | 59 | 38 | 79.3 | 0 |
There is one precedent for a player with the initials of his sport's ultimate prize taking home the trophy. In 1979, for the only time in 110 years, the World Series MVP was rightfully awarded to Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Willie Stargell. The 39-year-old needed 18 tries before breaking down the barrier for players with the initials of their sport's championship trophy everywhere. With no S.C. Stanley Cup MVP, no L.O. (or L.O'B.) NBA Finals MVP and no S.B. Super Bowl quarterback nor Super Bowl MVP, Stargelll remains the standard bearer.
But Bradford can change all that this year if he and the Eagles make it to Santa Clara on February 7 and smash through the B.S. curse. We'll be watching closely.
The Paper Of Record
Bo Knows
It's true. This is indeed the last Wulf's Den on PhiladelphiaEagles.com. To mark the occasion, we went through the roster and asked the only relevant question, with the answers presented below in chronological order. That question? What will you miss most about me?
Beau Allen:Your name. **
Najee Goode: Where you going?
Wulf: I'm leaving.
Goode: That right there. Those funny comments and that smile.
Fletcher Cox: About you? You're leaving? Where you going, man? I'll miss everything, man. I'll miss you being around. You're a cool guy. Just hanging out with you, just messing around with you when you have the camera and stuff. That's what's important, bro. I'll miss your presence.
Bennie Logan: Miss most about what? What am I going to miss most about you? Oh, the Wulf show, the funny Wulf show that we did. Make sure you say bye before you go.
Brandon Bair: Ha! What do you mean, you're taking off?
Wulf: Yup.
Bair: Just seeing your face every day, that's what I'm going to miss the most.
Sam Bradford: (Stops dead in his tracks) (Pretty sure he thinks Bo is terminally ill) What?
Wulf: I'm leaving the job.
Bradford: Oh. Just seeing you around the facility every day. It won't be the same without you.
Cedric Thornton: What I'm going to miss most? I don't know, you don't talk to me that much.
Wulf: That's not true.
Thornton: I'll miss your smile, man.
Lane Johnson: Asking me random questions.
Jason Peters: Nothing.
Wulf: Thank you.
Peters: (Laughs) Did that work?
Josh Andrews: What do you mean?
Wulf: I'm leaving.
Andrews: Oh you are? You never even talked to me so I don't know what to say about that.
Wulf: That's fair.
Justin Tukes: Just you being out here supporting, taking care of your business and everybody doing their part.
Emmanuel Acho: I'm going to miss your original and unique questions. RIP, brother.
Mark Sanchez: You're leaving?
Wulf: Yeah.
Sanchez: When's the party? Going away party?
Wulf: Friday.
Sanchez: Well then we'll talk about it Friday.
Connor Barwin: You're leaving?! That's so sad. You know, I really always enjoyed your writing of course.
Wulf: Thank you.
Barwin: I will miss your ridiculous questions, especially the last quarter of the season when there was absolutely nothing to write about any more and you still had to produce articles every day or every week. So I'll miss you just digging and digging for something to write about. Good luck though.
DeMeco Ryans: About you? You're leaving us?
Wulf: Yeah.
Ryans: Nahhhh. Well you always made it interesting. You always had interesting questions, fun questions, broke the monotony of all the football questions and it was good to have, you know, a good guy asking those questions. We hate to see you go. Wish you the best, man, definitely going to miss you. You kept things light around here.
Donnie Jones: Oh, man, what am I going to miss most about you? It has to be the questions, man, you asked some great questions. And the Wulf's Den, that's obviously going to be, who's going to – there's no other good names for it.
Wulf: I agree.
Jones: The Wulf's Den's gone and there's no ATM. Good luck to you though, man.
(15 seconds later)
Jones: Wait, let's do this again. What's the thing about me you're going to miss the most? Definitely those wolf ties you wore. Definitely the ties.
Jon Dorenbos: Are you leaving? No! … Is this getting published?
Wulf: Probably.
Dorenbos: Nothing. I will miss nothing about you. Zero.
Wulf: You're the second person to say that.
Dorenbos: Literally absolutely – dude, probably the tie. The Wulf Den. The Wulf Den became my favorite thing about Philadelphia because it brought out a very good quality in all the guys. It brought out laughter, it brought out camaraderie, it brought out a little bit of history.
Wulf: That was the goal. To let the fans see the players' personalities.
Dorenbos: Yeah, and you got that out of them in a very organic setting which was not easy to do. You got them to drop their guard and be themselves. And that's what the Wulf Den was all about, family, love. About live, love, laugh.
Nolan Carroll: Your face, man. Your handsome face.
Ryan Mathews: Huh? I don't know. That's an awkward question.
Wulf: It is an awkward question. That's what I'm going for.
Mathews: I don't know.
G.J. Kinne: Are you leaving?
Wulf: Yeah.
Kinne: What am I going to miss most about you? All your awesome stories.
Taylor Hart: Your smile.
Cody Parkey: Your awesome tie in the Wulf's Den.
Beau Allen: Can I change my answer to 'I'm not going to miss the stupid way you spell your name?'
Wulf: Yes, you can.
Marc Anthony: Uh, I'm not going to miss – I'm just playing. I don't know, that's a tough question. I don't know.
Wulf: That's ok, that's a good enough answer.
Anthony: What do you mean though?
Wulf: I'm leaving.
Anthony: Oh, are you really? Well I'm going to miss you very much. I hope everything works out.
Jaylen Watkins: I don't know, I don't think you interviewed me much.
Wulf: I think I interviewed you a couple times.
Watkins: I don't know. I don't remember getting many interviews last year. We're leaving on a not so good rookie year, so you're missing out on that.
Jerome Couplin: What will I miss most? Just seeing you every day, how about that?
Eric Rowe: I don't understand the question.
Wulf: That's the point, it's an awkward question. It's because I'm leaving the job.
Rowe: Oh, you're leaving? Well best of luck to you.
Riley Cooper: Your crazy questions.
Allen Barbre: About you? You're leaving?
Wulf: Yeah.
Barbre: I feel like this is a trick question.
Wulf: You can say whatever you want. You can say nothing.
Barbre: You had lots of good questions.
Mike Quick: More than anything, I'll miss the show in the closet. What I really appreciate is that you're a bright guy and when I listen to you, there's always, your use of certain words, you're a smart dude and I like that. I like listening to smart people. That's what I like about you.
Wulf: Thank you very much.
Quick: Quick wit, but sometimes you have to really pay attention. Sometimes I have to listen twice, like, 'Oh, that's what he meant.'
Tim Tebow: What will I miss most about you?
Wulf: Yes.
Tebow: Can I ask the reason for the question?
Wulf: I'm leaving the job.
Tebow: Well, I'm going to miss this moment right now, this connection that we just had and I felt your presence of kindness and so I'm going to miss that.
Julian Vandervelde: Of the multitude of things that I'll miss about you, I think your smile. Your charming smile. I don't think I've ever seen you frown. You're always smiling. And you'd be surprised just how far that goes, you know? It's an endearing quality. Not a lot of guys smile. Some people smile and they're really fake about it. I know some people with fake smiles, but I think that you're very genuine about it.
Wulf: What an answer.
Vandervelde: It adds an air of lightness and friendliness that we don't get a lot from a lot of people. It's nice. It's refreshing.
Wulf: I will take that. Thank you very much.
Marcus Smith: I don't miss you, you're right here in front of me.
Wulf: Well, I'm leaving.
Smith: Oh, you're about to leave? Well you're funny, man, you could always keep me laughing so that's what I'm going to miss the most about you.
Josh Huff: I guess I will miss your stories. You wrote all the good stories about me. I'll miss your stories about me.
Dennis Kelly: You're taking off?
Wulf: Yeah.
Kelly: Aw, well clearly the wrestling talks. The offbeat articles that you write are pretty funny, how you twist everything, not twist everything but turn everything into relatable things with the team and what's going on. I enjoyed that.
Harold Carmichael: Bugging me about doing interviews and all of that, you stalking me all the time, asking me all kinds of crazy questions that I don't even know the answers to. But I really am going to miss you Bo because you're a good man. I think you've done a lot for this organization, and it's not because you're standing in front of me, this is a true feeling. I thank you for that. We've been at it a couple times, I didn't know what you were doing a couple times. But it's truly a deep down feeling, I think you're a great person and you do your job very well.
Brandon Graham: Oh you're about to go? That's why you've been chilling?
Bennie Logan: Yeah, that's how he do it.
Beau Allen: Get out of here, leave already.
Graham: Shoot, I'm going to miss the dang old – what's the old school thing by the vending machine?
Wulf: The Wulf's Den.
Graham: The Wulf Den, ah. Yeah, that's what I'm going to miss, man. That was cool. You're about to go for real? You've been here how long?
Wulf: Six years.
Graham: Dang, you've been here as long as me. Both of us. Give me a big old hug, man.
Quron Pratt: You're leaving? That's good for you, keep progressing, man.
Mychal Kendricks: I'm going to miss your nonchalant ways, your cool swagger. I don't know, what am I going to miss most about you? Oh, this is a real interview. I don't know, we always had good conversations. It always seemed like you approached me with a positive attitude even if I was feeling (crappy) that day, you came out and your job is to ask me certain things that I may not want to do but for some reason you have a way with people and you can get them to do those things. You never approached me in any way to where I felt, 'Ugh, I don't want to deal with you.' I always enjoyed talking to you.
Wulf: That's very nice.
Kendricks: Yeah. No problem. Real talk though, I'm going to miss you though.
Jason Kelce: I have no idea, man.
Wulf: That's also a good answer.
Kelce: I'm going to miss your interesting and non-football-related-at-all questions.
Andrew Gardner: Everything. I'm going to miss, what was the game we were playing?Wulf: TaBo.
Gardner: Taboo right?
Wulf: TaBo.
Gardner: TaBo, obviously. I'm going to miss TaBo. You were a worthy adversary. Use that. And I'm going to try to make your joke column come true, the Constant Gardner.
Merrill Reese: Your football intelligence and your friendship.
Wulf: Well, we can still be friends, Merrill.