1997 Philadelphia Eagles season

1997 Philadelphia Eagles season
Owner	Jeffrey Lurie
Head coach	Ray Rhodes
Home field	Veterans Stadium
Results
Record	6–9–1
Division place	3rd NFC East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	WR Irving Fryar

The 1997 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's 65th season in the National Football League. The team failed to improve on their previous output of 10–6, going only 6–9–1 and failing to reach the playoffs for the first time in three seasons. This was the season where the team was sponsored by the "Starters" brand.

Lowlights of the 1997 campaign include a disheartening one-point loss at Dallas in week 3, where starter Ty Detmer led the Birds on a potential game-winning drive late in regulation, only to see holder Tommy Hutton botch the hold on what would have been the deciding field goal from ex-Cowboys kicker Chris Boniol. In Week 7, the Eagles lost their first-ever game against the three-season-old Jacksonville Jaguars, and on November 10, in a Monday Night Football 24–12 home loss against San Francisco, a fan was spotted firing a flare gun in the upper deck. Six days later, at Memorial Stadium, the Eagles and Ravens engaged in a 10–10 tie. This was Eagles' first tie since 1986 against the Cardinals.

One bright spot during the year came on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, when second-year Bobby Hoying stepped in under center and threw for a career-high 313 yards and four touchdowns in a 44–42 win against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The 1997 campaign was notable in that it ended a 13-year radio partnership between broadcasters Merrill Reese and former Eagle Stan Walters on 94 WIP. Mike Quick became the color commentator the following season.

Offseason

NFL draft

Main article: 1997 NFL draft

1997 Philadelphia Eagles draft
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	25	Jon Harris	DE	Virginia
2	57	James Darling	LB	Washington State
3	71	Duce Staley	RB	South Carolina
4	119	Damien Robinson	FS	Iowa
5	152	N. D. Kalu	DE	Rice
	155	Luther Broughton	TE	Furman
6	190	Antwuan Wyatt	WR	Bethune-Cookman
	198	Ed Jasper	DT	Texas A&M
7	207	Koy Detmer	QB	Colorado
	225	Byron Capers	DB	Florida State
	227	Deauntae Brown	DB	Central State (OH)

Staff

1997 Philadelphia Eagles staff

Front office Owner/chief executive officer – Jeffrey Lurie Executive vice-president – Joe Banner Director of football operations – Dick Daniels Head coaches Head coach – Ray Rhodes Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Jon Gruden Quarterbacks – Sean Payton Running backs – Ted Williams Wide receivers – Gerald Carr Tight ends – Juan Castillo Offensive line – Bill Callahan Quality control – David Shaw

Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Emmitt Thomas Defensive line – Mike Trgovac Linebackers – Joe Vitt Defensive backs – Danny Smith Defensive assistant – Chuck Knox Jr. Special teams coaches Special teams – Joe Wessel Strength and conditioning Strength and conditioning – Mike Wolf Assistant strength and conditioning – Tom Kanavy Volunteer strength and conditioning – Kevin Tolbert

Roster

1997 Philadelphia Eagles roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 14 Ty Detmer  7 Bobby Hoying  9 Rodney Peete Running backs (RB) 30 Charlie Garner 28 Mel Gray PR 22 Duce Staley KR 34 Kevin Turner FB 32 Ricky Watters Wide receivers (WR) 86 Russell Copeland 80 Irving Fryar 82 Chris T. Jones 84 Freddie Solomon PR 83 Michael Timpson Tight ends (TE) 87 Jason Dunn 88 Jimmie Johnson 89 Chad Lewis

Offensive linemen (OL) 62 Ian Beckles G 76 Barrett Brooks T 73 Jerry Crafts G 75 Troy Drake T 61 Steve Everitt C 64 Sean Love G 71 Jermane Mayberry T 65 Bubba Miller C/G 72 Joe Panos G Defensive linemen (DL) 95 Richard Dent DE 97 Rhett Hall DT 90 Jon Harris DE 74 Ed Jasper DT 79 Greg Jefferson DE 98 Jimmie Jones DT 53 N.D. Kalu DE 59 Mike Mamula DE 78 Hollis Thomas DT 96 Al Wallace DE

Linebackers (LB) 93 Darion Conner OLB 57 James Darling OLB 55 Ray Farmer OLB 58 DeShawn Fogle OLB 54 Jeff Herrod MLB 51 William Thomas OLB 50 James Willis MLB Defensive backs (DB) 25 Willie Clark CB 20 Brian Dawkins FS 38 Charles Dimry CB 43 Randy Kinder CB 24 Tim McTyer CB 45 Matt Stevens SS 23 Troy Vincent CB 36 Mike Zordich SS Special teams 18 Chris Boniol K  4 Tom Hutton P 68 Morris Unutoa LS

Practice squad -- Patrick Augafa C 26 Anthony Rice CB 53 active, 9 inactive, 2 practice squad Reserve 77 Richard Cooper T (IR) 10 Koy Detmer QB (IR) 47 Charles Emanuel S (IR) 46 Fred Ford CB (IR) 48 Andre President TE (IR) 56 Darrin Smith LB (IR) 21 Bobby Taylor CB (IR) 39 Corey Walker RB (IR) 85 Antwuan Wyatt WR (IR) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	August 31, 1997	at New York Giants	L 31–17	0–1	77,344
2	September 7, 1997	Green Bay Packers	W 10–9	1–1	66,803
3	September 15, 1997	at Dallas Cowboys	L 21–20	1–2	63,942
4	Bye
5	September 28, 1997	at Minnesota Vikings	L 28–19	1–3	55,149
6	October 5, 1997	Washington Redskins	W 24–10	2–3	67,008
7	October 12, 1997	at Jacksonville Jaguars	L 38–21	2–4	69,150
8	October 19, 1997	Arizona Cardinals	W 13–10 (OT)	3–4	66,860
9	October 26, 1997	Dallas Cowboys	W 13–12	4–4	67,106
10	November 2, 1997	at Arizona Cardinals	L 31–21	4–5	39,549
11	November 10, 1997	San Francisco 49ers	L 24–12	4–6	67,133
12	November 16, 1997	at Baltimore Ravens	T 10–10 (OT)	4–6–1	63,546
13	November 23, 1997	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 23–20	5–6–1	67,166
14	November 30, 1997	Cincinnati Bengals	W 44–42	6–6–1	66,623
15	December 7, 1997	New York Giants	L 31–21	6–7–1	67,084
16	December 14, 1997	at Atlanta Falcons	L 20–17	6–8–1	42,866
17	December 21, 1997	at Washington Redskins	L 35–32	6–9–1	75,939

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFC East
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	STK
(3) New York Giants	10	5	1	.656	307	265	W3
Washington Redskins	8	7	1	.531	327	289	W1
Philadelphia Eagles	6	9	1	.406	317	372	L3
Dallas Cowboys	6	10	0	.375	304	314	L5
Arizona Cardinals	4	12	0	.250	283	379	W1

External links

• 1997 Philadelphia Eagles at Pro-Football-Reference.com