Tony Eason: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox NFL biography |
{{Infobox NFL biography |
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|name=Tony Eason |
| name = Tony Eason |
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| number = 11 |
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|image= |
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| position = [[Quarterback]] |
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|alt= |
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|10|8}} |
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|caption= |
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| birth_place = [[Blythe, California]], U.S. |
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|number=11 |
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| height_ft = 6 |
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|position=[[Quarterback]] |
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| height_in = 4 |
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|birth_date={{birth date and age|1959|10|8}} |
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| weight_lb = 212 |
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|birth_place=[[Blythe, California]], U.S. |
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| high_school = [[Delta High School (Clarksburg, California)|Delta]] {{nowrap|([[Clarksburg, California]])}} |
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|height_ft=6 |
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| college = [[Illinois Fighting Illini football|Illinois]] |
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|height_in=4 |
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| draftyear = 1983 |
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|weight_lbs=212 |
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| draftround = 1 |
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|high_school=[[Delta High School (Clarksburg, California)|Delta]] {{nowrap|([[Clarksburg, California]])}} |
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| draftpick = 15 |
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|college=[[Illinois Fighting Illini football|Illinois]] |
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| pastteams = |
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|draftyear=1983 |
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* [[New England Patriots]] ({{NFL Year|1983|1989}}) |
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|draftround=1 |
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* [[New York Jets]] ({{NFL Year|1989}}–{{NFL Year|1990}}) |
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|draftpick=15 |
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| highlights = |
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|pastteams= |
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* Third-team [[College Football All-America Team|All-American]] ([[1982 College Football All-America Team|1982]]) |
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* [[New England Patriots]] ([[1983 NFL season|1983]]–[[1989 NFL season|1989]]) |
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* 2× First-team [[List of All-Big Ten Conference football teams|All-Big Ten]] ([[1981 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1981]], [[1982 All-Big Ten Conference football team|1982]]) |
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* [[New York Jets]] ([[1989 NFL season|1989]]–[[1990 NFL season|1990]]) |
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|statlabel1=Pass attempts |
| statlabel1 = Pass attempts |
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|statvalue1=1,564 |
| statvalue1 = 1,564 |
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|statlabel2=Pass completions |
| statlabel2 = Pass completions |
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|statvalue2=911 |
| statvalue2 = 911 |
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|statlabel3=Percentage |
| statlabel3 = Percentage |
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|statvalue3=58.2 |
| statvalue3 = 58.2 |
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|statlabel4=[[Touchdown|TD]]–[[Interception|INT]] |
| statlabel4 = [[Touchdown|TD]]–[[Interception|INT]] |
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|statvalue4=61–51 |
| statvalue4 = 61–51 |
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|statlabel5=Passing yards |
| statlabel5 = Passing yards |
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|statvalue5=11,142 |
| statvalue5 = 11,142 |
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|statlabel6=[[Passer rating]] |
| statlabel6 = [[Passer rating]] |
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|statvalue6=79.7 |
| statvalue6 = 79.7 |
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| pfr = EasoTo00 |
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|nfl=EAS332232 |
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|pfr=EasoTo00 |
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}} |
}} |
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'''Charles Carroll''' "'''Tony'''" '''Eason IV''' (born October 8, 1959) is an American former [[American football|football]] [[quarterback]] who played in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the [[New England Patriots]]. He played [[college football]] for the [[Illinois Fighting Illini football|Illinois Fighting Illini]]. Taken 15th overall by the Patriots in the [[1983 NFL |
'''Charles Carroll''' "'''Tony'''" '''Eason IV''' (born October 8, 1959) is an American former professional [[American football|football]] [[quarterback]] who played in the [[National Football League]] (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the [[New England Patriots]]. He played [[college football]] for the [[Illinois Fighting Illini football|Illinois Fighting Illini]]. Taken 15th overall by the Patriots in the [[1983 NFL draft]], he was one of the six quarterbacks selected during the first round. Eason served as New England's primary starter from 1984 to 1986, where he helped the team make their [[Super Bowl]] debut in [[Super Bowl XX]]. Competing as the starter with [[Steve Grogan]] throughout his Patriots tenure, Eason was released during the 1989 season. He spent his final two seasons as a backup with the [[New York Jets]]. |
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==Early |
==Early life== |
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Eason grew up in [[Walnut Grove, California]], and attended Delta High School in [[Clarksburg, California]], a school with only 250 students at the time.<ref name=Tony>{{cite news|author=Dan Vierria|title=Determination and luck moved Tony Eason along|newspaper=Anchorage Daily News (McClatchy News Service)|date=January 24, 1986|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0YI0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=raYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3971,4291287&dq=tony-eason&hl=en}}</ref> His brother is former professional NFL player [[Bo Eason]]. Despite an impressive high school football career, Eason's only scholarship offer from a Division I school came from the [[University of the Pacific (United States)|University of the Pacific]] in [[Stockton, California]]. However, he was denied admission due to poor grades,<ref name=Tony /> and he opted to attend [[American River Junior College]] in [[Sacramento, California]].<ref name=Juco /> Eason spent two years playing football at American River in 1978 and 1979.<ref name=Tony /> |
Eason grew up in [[Walnut Grove, California]], and attended Delta High School in [[Clarksburg, California]], a school with only 250 students at the time.<ref name=Tony>{{cite news|author=Dan Vierria|title=Determination and luck moved Tony Eason along|newspaper=Anchorage Daily News (McClatchy News Service)|date=January 24, 1986|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0YI0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=raYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3971,4291287&dq=tony-eason&hl=en|access-date=November 15, 2015|archive-date=May 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511053130/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0YI0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=raYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3971,4291287&dq=tony-eason&hl=en|url-status=dead}}</ref> His brother is former professional NFL player [[Bo Eason]]. Despite an impressive high school football career, Eason's only scholarship offer from a Division I school came from the [[University of the Pacific (United States)|University of the Pacific]] in [[Stockton, California]]. However, he was denied admission due to poor grades,<ref name=Tony /> and he opted to attend [[American River Junior College]] in [[Sacramento, California]].<ref name=Juco /> Eason spent two years playing football at American River in 1978 and 1979.<ref name=Tony /> |
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==College career== |
==College career== |
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Eason transferred to the [[University of Illinois]] and sat out the 1980 season.<ref name=Juco>{{cite news|author=Bob Smizik|title=Marino Pitt's Man With Golden Arm|newspaper=Pittsburgh Press-Gazette|date=September 4, 1981}}</ref> He was 6 feet, 4 inches tall, and weighed 205 pounds when he took over as the starting quarterback for the [[Illinois Fighting Illini football|Fighting Illini]] in 1981.<ref name=Juco /> His first start for Illinois matched Eason against [[Pittsburgh Panthers football|Pitt]]'s quarterback [[Dan Marino]]; the Illini lost, 26–6, but Eason made an impressive debut as he completed 23 of 37 passes for 207 yards (slightly better than the 204 yards passing by Marino in the game).<ref>{{cite news|title=Eason, defense pass their first test, but Illini fall to Pitt: Eason passes test, but Illini lose|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=September 6, 1981}}</ref> In his first season with the Illini, Eason led the Illini to a |
Eason transferred to the [[University of Illinois]] and sat out the 1980 season.<ref name=Juco>{{cite news|author=Bob Smizik|title=Marino Pitt's Man With Golden Arm|newspaper=Pittsburgh Press-Gazette|date=September 4, 1981}}</ref> He was 6 feet, 4 inches tall, and weighed 205 pounds when he took over as the starting quarterback for the [[Illinois Fighting Illini football|Fighting Illini]] in 1981.<ref name=Juco /> His first start for Illinois matched Eason against [[Pittsburgh Panthers football|Pitt]]'s quarterback [[Dan Marino]]; the Illini lost, 26–6, but Eason made an impressive debut as he completed 23 of 37 passes for 207 yards (slightly better than the 204 yards passing by Marino in the game).<ref>{{cite news|title=Eason, defense pass their first test, but Illini fall to Pitt: Eason passes test, but Illini lose|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=September 6, 1981}}</ref> In his first season with the Illini, Eason led the Illini to a 7–4 record, but the team was ineligible to play in a bowl game due to sanctions imposed by the [[Big Ten Conference]].<ref name=Mil /> Eason completed 248 of 406 passes (61.1%) for 3,360 yards and 20 touchdowns.<ref name=Mil>{{cite news|author=George Sauerberg|title=Bowl Bound? Quarterback Eason has high hopes for the Illini|newspaper=Milwaukee Sentinel|date=August 27, 1982|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8WsWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=JhIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6711,5933596&dq=tony-eason&hl=en}}</ref> The Illini ranked third in the nation in passing in 1981, as Eason led the Big Ten in passing efficiency and total offense and set nine conference records, including records for total offense, completions, passing yardage, and passing touchdowns.<ref name=Mil /><ref name=Edge>{{cite news|author=Joe Mooshil|title=Eason Edges Schlichter on All Big Ten|newspaper=The Argus-Press|date=December 1, 1981|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=vUMiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Uq0FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1357,2601449&dq=tony-eason&hl=en}}</ref> He also edged out [[Art Schlichter]] as the quarterback on the [[Associated Press]]' All Big-Ten football team.<ref name=Edge /> |
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Eason earned the nickname "Champaign Tony" while playing at Illinois, based upon the [[Champaign, Illinois|city]] in which the university is located.<ref>{{cite news|author=Ian Thomsen|title='CHAMPAIGN' TONY EASON; A NORMAL GUY FINDS HIMSELF IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME|newspaper=Boston Globe|date=May 8, 1983|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/663754791.html?dids=663754791:663754791&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+08,+1983&author=Ian+Thomsen+Special+to+The+Globe&pub=Boston+Globe+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=CHAMPAIGN'+TONY+EASON;+A+NORMAL+GUY'+FINDS+HIMSELF+IN+THE+RIGHT+PLACE+AT+THE+RIGHT+TIME&pqatl=google}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Pitt To Try a Taste of 'Champaign'|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=September 24, 1982|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB294391679C905&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM}}</ref> |
Eason earned the nickname "Champaign Tony" while playing at Illinois, based upon the [[Champaign, Illinois|city]] in which the university is located.<ref>{{cite news|author=Ian Thomsen|title='CHAMPAIGN' TONY EASON; A NORMAL GUY FINDS HIMSELF IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME|newspaper=Boston Globe|date=May 8, 1983|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/663754791.html?dids=663754791:663754791&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+08,+1983&author=Ian+Thomsen+Special+to+The+Globe&pub=Boston+Globe+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=CHAMPAIGN%27+TONY+EASON;+A+NORMAL+GUY%27+FINDS+HIMSELF+IN+THE+RIGHT+PLACE+AT+THE+RIGHT+TIME&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131205501/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/access/663754791.html?dids=663754791:663754791&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=May+08,+1983&author=Ian+Thomsen+Special+to+The+Globe&pub=Boston+Globe+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&desc=CHAMPAIGN'+TONY+EASON;+A+NORMAL+GUY'+FINDS+HIMSELF+IN+THE+RIGHT+PLACE+AT+THE+RIGHT+TIME&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 31, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Pitt To Try a Taste of 'Champaign'|newspaper=Philadelphia Inquirer|date=September 24, 1982|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB294391679C905&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM}}</ref> |
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As a senior in 1982, Eason accumulated a school record 3,671 passing yards and led the Illini to a 7–4 regular season record and its first appearance in a bowl games since the [[1964 Rose Bowl]]. He also broke five NCAA passing records in 1982 and tied four more. The NCAA records set by Eason in 1982 included most total yards per game in a career (299.5), most passing yards per game in a career (300.4), most completions per game in a career (23.9), and most total yards in first two seasons (6,589).<ref>{{cite news|author=Mike Goens|title=Eason hard act to follow for future Illini hopefuls|newspaper=Times-Daily|date=December 28, 1982|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VGkeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7MgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2478,7619918&dq=tony-eason&hl=en}}</ref> Eason finished second in the voting behind Michigan's [[Anthony Carter (American football)|Anthony Carter]] for the [[Chicago Tribune Silver Football]] trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the Big Ten.<ref>{{cite news|author=Roy Damer|title=Michigan's Carter wins Tribune's Silver Football|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=December 25, 1982|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/629840482.html?dids=629840482:629840482&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Dec+25,+1982&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Michigan's+Carter+wins+Tribune's+Silver+Football&pqatl=google}}</ref> |
As a senior in 1982, Eason accumulated a school record 3,671 passing yards and led the Illini to a 7–4 regular season record and its first appearance in a bowl games since the [[1964 Rose Bowl]]. He also broke five NCAA passing records in 1982 and tied four more. The NCAA records set by Eason in 1982 included most total yards per game in a career (299.5), most passing yards per game in a career (300.4), most completions per game in a career (23.9), and most total yards in first two seasons (6,589).<ref>{{cite news|author=Mike Goens|title=Eason hard act to follow for future Illini hopefuls|newspaper=Times-Daily|date=December 28, 1982|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VGkeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=7MgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2478,7619918&dq=tony-eason&hl=en}}</ref> Eason finished second in the voting behind Michigan's [[Anthony Carter (American football)|Anthony Carter]] for the [[Chicago Tribune Silver Football]] trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the Big Ten.<ref>{{cite news|author=Roy Damer|title=Michigan's Carter wins Tribune's Silver Football|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=December 25, 1982|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/629840482.html?dids=629840482:629840482&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Dec+25,+1982&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Michigan%27s+Carter+wins+Tribune%27s+Silver+Football&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131152023/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/chicagotribune/access/629840482.html?dids=629840482:629840482&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Dec+25,+1982&author=&pub=Chicago+Tribune&desc=Michigan's+Carter+wins+Tribune's+Silver+Football&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 31, 2013}}</ref> |
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Eason's final game for Illinois was the [[1982 Liberty Bowl]], which also marked the last head coaching appearance of [[Bear Bryant]] for Alabama. Although Illinois lost the game, 21–15, Eason registered a record 433 passing yards in the game. Eason also threw four of the Illini's seven interceptions in the game.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tide rolls final time for Bear|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=December 30, 1982|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=i-UNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nG0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5656,7061494&dq=tony-eason&hl=en}}</ref> |
Eason's final game for Illinois was the [[1982 Liberty Bowl]], which also marked the last head coaching appearance of [[Bear Bryant]] for Alabama. Although Illinois lost the game, 21–15, Eason registered a record 433 passing yards in the game. Eason also threw four of the Illini's seven interceptions in the game.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tide rolls final time for Bear|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=December 30, 1982|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=i-UNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=nG0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5656,7061494&dq=tony-eason&hl=en}}</ref> |
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Line 63: | Line 62: | ||
* Most interceptions in a season – 19 (1982) |
* Most interceptions in a season – 19 (1982) |
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* Consecutive pass completions – 14, at Iowa, October 30, 1982<ref>{{cite web|title=Individual Records|publisher=Fighting Illini (official site)|url=http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/FBIndividualRecords.html|access-date=May 4, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609124442/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/FBIndividualRecords.html|archive-date=June 9, 2011}}</ref> |
* Consecutive pass completions – 14, at Iowa, October 30, 1982<ref>{{cite web|title=Individual Records|publisher=Fighting Illini (official site)|url=http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/FBIndividualRecords.html|access-date=May 4, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609124442/http://www.fightingillini.com/sports/m-footbl/archive/FBIndividualRecords.html|archive-date=June 9, 2011}}</ref> |
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=== College statistics === |
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{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" |
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|- |
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! rowspan="2"| Season |
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! colspan="3"| Games |
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! colspan="8"| Passing |
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! colspan="5"| Rushing |
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|- |
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! GP !! GS !! Record !! Comp !! Att !! Pct !! Yards !! Avg !! TD !! Int !! Rate !! Att !! Yards !! Avg !! TD |
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|- |
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! colspan="16" style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Illinois Fighting Illini}};"| Illinois Fighting Illini |
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|- |
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! [[1981 Illinois Fighting Illini football team|1981]] |
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| 11 || 11 || 7–4 || 248 || 406 || 61.1 || 3,360 || 8.3 || '''20''' || 14 || '''140.0''' || '''87''' || -29 || -0.3 || '''5''' |
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|- |
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! [[1982 Illinois Fighting Illini football team|1982]] |
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| '''12''' || '''12''' || 7–5 || '''313''' || '''505''' || '''62.0''' || '''3,671''' || 7.3 || 18 || '''19''' || 127.3 || 73 || '''10''' || '''0.1''' || 1 |
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|- |
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! [https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/tony-eason-1.html Career] !! 23 !! 23 !! 14–9 !! 561 !! 911 !! 61.6 !! 7,031 !! 7.7 !! 38 !! 33 !! 132.9 !! 160 !! -19 !! -0.1 !! 6 |
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|} |
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==Professional career== |
==Professional career== |
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===New England Patriots=== |
===New England Patriots=== |
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Eason was selected by the [[New England Patriots]] in the first round (15th overall pick) of the [[1983 NFL |
Eason was selected by the [[New England Patriots]] in the first round (15th overall pick) of the [[1983 NFL draft]].<ref name=PFR>{{cite web|title=Tony Eason profile|publisher=pro-football-reference.com|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/EasoTo00.htm}}</ref> He was one of six quarterbacks picked in the first round of the 1983 Draft along with [[John Elway]] (1st pick), [[Todd Blackledge]] (7th pick), [[Jim Kelly]] (14th pick), [[Ken O'Brien]] (24th pick), and [[Dan Marino]] (27th pick).<ref>{{cite web|title=1983 NFL Draft|publisher=pro-football-reference.com|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1983.htm|access-date=May 4, 2010}}</ref> The idea was for him to eventually take over for longtime starter [[Steve Grogan]], who had gone 5–8 in his last two injury-ridden seasons. |
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Eason |
Eason would appear in 72 games (49 as a starter) for the Patriots between 1983 and 1989.<ref name=PFR/> His rookie season saw him start the last four games of the year after Grogan started Week 1 through 12 and got them to a 6–6 record, with Eason doing spot appearances, such as being put in to throw the last eleven passes against Cleveland in a rout that ended with Eason throwing his first interception (and then second) in a 30–0 loss. In his first start against the New York Jets the following week, Eason went 13-of-27 with an interception in a 26–3 loss. Eason went 2–2 as a starter, throwing just one touchdown to five interceptions. In 1984, Grogan was named the starter, but Week 3 saw Eason be tapped in to replace Grogan midway against the Seattle Seahawks. He went 12-of-22 for 126 yards and two touchdowns in the 38–23 victory. From that point, Eason started the rest of the season, going 7-6 along the way while completing 259 out of 431 passes (60.1%) for 3,228 yards and a passer rating of 93.4—third best in the NFL. His best game came against the Indianapolis Colts went he threw for a career high four touchdowns in a 50–17 victory.<ref name=PFR/> Eason also set an undesirable record in 1984 by being sacked 59 times for a loss of 409 yards; his 59 sacks were the most in NFL history at the time and currently stands as the ninth highest single season total.<ref>{{cite web|title=NFL Single-Season Sacked Leaders|publisher=pro-football-reference.com|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/leaders/pass_sacked_single_season.htm|access-date=May 4, 2010}}</ref> Eason also led the NFL in interception percentage in the 1984 season with only 1.9% of his passes being intercepted.<ref name=PFR/> |
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====Super Bowl XX==== |
====Super Bowl XX season (1985)==== |
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In the 1985 season, Eason |
In the 1985 season, Eason was the primary starter, doing so for the first six games, which saw New England win three of them but head coach [[Raymond Berry]] inserted Grogan during the Week 6 contest against the [[Buffalo Bills]] after Eason threw two interceptions that saw the Patriots win. Grogan would be tapped to start the following six games, where New England went on a six-game winning streak until he suffered a broken leg against the Jets in Week 12. Eason became the primary quarterback from that point on, guiding New England to wins in three of their last four games, including a 34–23 win over the [[Cincinnati Bengals]] in the season finale highlighted by a 50-yard touchdown pass to [[Stanley Morgan]]. In total, Eason threw for 2,156 yards but had 11 touchdowns to 17 interceptions. New England clinched a playoff spot as the final Wild Card team and would be on the road for any playoff game they played. It would be a historic one as they became the first team in NFL history since the 1978 wildcard playoff expansion to win three road postseason games to reach the [[Super Bowl]]. In the Wild Card Game against the Jets, he threw 12-of-16 for 179 yards with a touchdown as the Patriots beat the Jets 26–14 to win their first playoff game since 1963. He went just 7-of-14 for 117 yards with a touchdown against the Los Angeles Raiders in the Divisional Round, but the Patriots won 27–20 on the strength of forcing six turnovers (including the winning score being a fumble recovery) and offensive play from [[Craig James (running back)|Craig James]] to advance to their first AFC Championship Game appearance against the [[1985 Miami Dolphins season|Miami Dolphins]], who had not lost to New England in the [[Miami Orange Bowl]] since 1966. Eason threw three touchdowns against the [[Miami Dolphins]] in the [[AFC Championship Game]] to prevail 31–14.<ref>{{cite news|title=Eason Lets Instincts Lead Him|newspaper=The Palm Beach Post|date=January 20, 1986|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9BYjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=1M4FAAAAIBAJ&pg=1197,8909321&dq=tony-eason&hl=en}}</ref> |
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The Patriots made their first appearance in a Super Bowl in franchise history that year, meeting the [[Chicago Bears]] with [[Jim McMahon]] and [[Walter Payton]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Tony Eason Leads Patriots With a Cool, Casual Manner: He's Reverse of Bears' QB Jim McMahon|newspaper=Ocala Star-Banner|date=January 24, 1986|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=COkTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MQYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3604,4215171&dq=tony-eason&hl=en}}</ref> The Bears' famed [[46 defense]] defeated Eason and the Patriots in [[Super Bowl XX]], the Bears defense sacked Eason three times for 28 yards. He became the first and so far only starting quarterback in Super Bowl history to not have a pass completion, finishing 0-for-6 with no interceptions for a passer rating of 39.6, and was sacked three times. With the Patriots trailing the Bears 20-3 Eason was replaced with veteran [[Steve Grogan]], but the Patriots still lost the game, by the final score of 46–10, which at the time was the largest winning margin of any Super Bowl.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 27, 1986 |title=Bears Trounce Patriots, 46-10, in Super Bowl |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-27-mn-540-story.html |access-date=November 16, 2023 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Famed lineman [[John Hannah (American football)|John Hannah]] stated his preference for Grogan over Eason |
The Patriots made their first appearance in a Super Bowl in franchise history that year, meeting the [[1985 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears]] with [[Jim McMahon]], [[Richard Dent]], and [[Walter Payton]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Tony Eason Leads Patriots With a Cool, Casual Manner: He's Reverse of Bears' QB Jim McMahon|newspaper=Ocala Star-Banner|date=January 24, 1986|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=COkTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MQYEAAAAIBAJ&pg=3604,4215171&dq=tony-eason&hl=en}}</ref> The Bears' famed [[46 defense]] defeated Eason and the Patriots in [[Super Bowl XX]], the Bears defense sacked Eason three times for 28 yards. He became the first and so far only starting quarterback in Super Bowl history to not have a pass completion, finishing 0-for-6 with no interceptions for a passer rating of 39.6, and was sacked three times. With the Patriots trailing the Bears 20-3 Eason was replaced with veteran [[Steve Grogan]], but the Patriots still lost the game, by the final score of 46–10, which at the time was the largest winning margin of any Super Bowl.<ref>{{Cite web |date=January 27, 1986 |title=Bears Trounce Patriots, 46-10, in Super Bowl |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-27-mn-540-story.html |access-date=November 16, 2023 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Famed lineman [[John Hannah (American football)|John Hannah]] stated his preference for Grogan over Eason stating, “Tony should wear a skirt instead of a uniform. When he was hurt before we played the Bears in the Super Bowl, we were hoping he’d stay hurt so Steve could play.”<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=1988-06-28 |title=He Just Didn't Want to Rock the Boat |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-06-28-sp-4948-story.html |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Eason was later stated to have a fever of 101 with what was stated to be a "viral infection." Berry stated that he took out an uncomfortable Eason for Grogan as what he thought was a good move with the score at 20–3.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Eskenazi |first=Gerald |date=1986-01-28 |title=LITTLE CONSOLATION FOR THE PATRIOTS |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/28/sports/little-consolation-for-the-patriots.html |access-date=2024-03-12 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> |
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In 2008, ESPN ranked Eason's performance as the worst (82nd out of 82) in the history of the Super Bowl, noting, "In addition to his awful passing stats, he lost a fumble and not surprisingly was yanked in the second quarter."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wachs |first=Allison |date=January 22, 2008 |title=Patriots' Eason bottoms out with an O-fer: From Joe Montana to Tony Eason, ESPN.com ranks the Super Bowl starting quarterbacks from 1-82 |work=ESPN.com |url= |
In 2008, ESPN ranked Eason's performance as the worst (82nd out of 82) in the history of the Super Bowl, noting, "In addition to his awful passing stats, he lost a fumble and not surprisingly was yanked in the second quarter."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wachs |first=Allison |date=January 22, 2008 |title=Patriots' Eason bottoms out with an O-fer: From Joe Montana to Tony Eason, ESPN.com ranks the Super Bowl starting quarterbacks from 1-82 |work=ESPN.com |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/playoffs07/news/story?id=3206805 |access-date=November 17, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Klancnik |first=Rudy |date=January 23, 2008 |title=Eason isn't eager to relive his day in the spotlight: Tony Eason would rather not discuss his day as the only Super Bowl starting quarterback to fail to complete a single pass |work=ESPN.com |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/playoffs07/news/story?id=3208282 |access-date=November 17, 2023}}</ref> |
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===After Super Bowl XX=== |
===After Super Bowl XX=== |
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The following season, Eason started in fourteen games, missing two due to injury. He threw for 3,328 yards with 19 touchdowns to 10 interceptions as the Patriots went |
The following season, Eason started in fourteen games, missing two due to injury. He threw for 3,328 yards (on 61.6% passing) with 19 touchdowns to 10 interceptions as the Patriots went 11–5 to clinch their first [[AFC East]] title in eight years along with reach the postseason in consecutive years for the first time in franchise history. His passer rating of 89.2 was fourth best in the NFL. He had his best game in passing against the Seahawks that year, throwing a career best 414 yards on 26-of-45 passing in a 38–31 loss.<ref name=PFR/><ref>{{Cite web |title=Tony Eason 1986 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/EasoTo00.htm |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=1986-10-20 |title=Grogan Gives the Patriots Relief--the Steelers Grief |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-10-20-sp-6450-story.html |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Due to the playoff structure, they were the third seed travelling to play the [[AFC West]] champion [[1986 Denver Broncos season|Denver Broncos]], who hosted as the 2 seed. Eason opened the scoring for New England on a touchdown pass to [[Stanley Morgan]] to make it 7–3 in the second quarter, and the teams were tied at 10 at halftime. Eason then threw another touchdown pass to Morgan to give them a 17–13 lead, but the Broncos took the lead back in the same quarter. Eason went 13-of-24 for 194 yards with two touchdowns while Elway threw for more yards on the same amount of completions with two interceptions, but Eason was sacked six times as New England could not capitalize on any of their four drives in the fourth quarter, with [[Rulon Jones]] sacking Eason in the endzone (with 1:32 remaining) to cap the scoring off in a 22–17 loss for New England. Denver won the following week to reach the Super Bowl.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Divisional Round - New England Patriots at Denver Broncos - January 4th, 1987 |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198701040den.htm |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/05/sports/broncos-defeat-patriots.html|title=BRONCOS DEFEAT PATRIOTS|first=William N. Wallace and Special To the New York|last=Times|website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Eason missed the opening game of the 1987 season due to a groin injury, which opened the door for Grogan to play. Eason then started the second week against the [[1987 New York Jets season|New York Jets]], a 43–24 loss. The [[1987 NFL Players Strike|NFLPA strike]] took place not long after that saw replacement players be used to make up for cancelling Week 3, where the replacements played from Week 4 to Week 6. After that, Eason started the Week 6 game, going 22-of-42 for a touchdown and an interception. He was the starter in the Week 7 game versus the Raiders, throwing just three passes before a tackle by [[Stacey Toran]] saw Eason suffer a separated shoulder that ended up knocking him out for the remainder of the season. In a season that saw New England use five quarterbacks, Eason had just two starts.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=1987-09-14 |title=PRO FOOTBALL '87 : Patriots Beat Dolphins on Two Costly Mistakes |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-09-14-sp-4930-story.html |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Tony Eason 1987 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/EasoTo00.htm |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2017-09-16 |title=The strike that drained the last bit of innocence from the NFL |url=https://nypost.com/2017/09/16/the-strike-that-drained-the-last-bit-of-innocence-from-the-nfl/ |access-date=2024-01-31 |language=en-US}}</ref> |
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In February |
In February 1988, Berry designated Grogan as the starter with Eason as the backup. He did not express approval and threatened to sit out the year, which also saw the Patriots consider cutting his base salary ($875,000) by over 25%.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=1988-02-02 |title=New England Patriots quarterback Tony Eason, whose... |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-02-02-sp-40082-story.html |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Eason did not see the field for the 1988 season until Week 15. He started versus Tampa Bay and went 16-of-27 for 155 yards with two interceptions but managed to win 10–7 in overtime when a pair of his passes hit [[Irving Fryar]] to set up a game-winning field goal after Tampa elected to kick after winning the coin toss due to the wind. Eason then visited Denver for the Week 16 matchup as the starter and was 12-of-16 for 94 yards before being taken out late for Grogan in a 21–10 loss that saw New England miss out on a playoff spot.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BUCPOWER.COM |url=https://www.bucpower.com/review-feature1.html |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=www.bucpower.com}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Tony Eason 1988 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/EasoTo00.htm |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-12-31 |title=BRONCOS DIM PATRIOTS' PLAYOFF HOPES, 21-10 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1988/12/18/broncos-dim-patriots-playoff-hopes-21-10/791221f5-c6f7-4d75-b717-814fb77c99b8/ |access-date=2024-03-12 |work=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> The 1989 season saw the Patriots keep four quarterbacks in their roster - Eason, Grogan, [[Doug Flutie]], and [[Marc Wilson (American football)|Marc Wilson]], with the latter being insurance for Grogan.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Baker |first=Chris |date=1989-12-09 |title=MARC WILSON, STARTING AGAIN |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1989/12/09/marc-wilson-starting-again/e8790ccf-017a-4312-a5f2-c20704122aa7/ |access-date=2024-01-31 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> Eason won on opening day with a 15-of-23 performance for 273 yards with two touchdowns and interceptions each. This was followed by losses to Miami and Seattle, with the latter seeing him go 17-of-33 for 147 yards with an interception.<ref name=":0" /> Eason was benched for Flutie after the game. He was later let go by the team and claimed off waivers by the [[New York Jets]] during the [[1989 NFL season]], after Eason refused to take a cut in pay after he was demoted to fourth-string on New England's roster with team owner [[Victor Kiam]] stating that he thought Eason would be the starter with the $2.3-million & two-year contract that he signed. Eason reluctantly joined the team in November after considering not reporting due to not wanting to be in competition with his "good friend" [[Ken O'Brien]]. He reported to the team in order to not give up the remainder of his salary.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tony Eason, the former New England Patriots quarterback who... - UPI Archives |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1989/11/08/Tony-Eason-the-former-New-England-Patriots-quarterback-who/8353626504400/ |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=UPI |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Eskenazi |first=Gerald |date=November 2, 1989 |title=Jets Claim an Unwilling Eason off Waivers |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/11/02/sports/jets-claim-an-unwilling-eason-off-waivers.html |access-date=November 17, 2023}}</ref> He started the last two games of the 1989 season for the Jets, which resulted in him throwing an interception in losses each time.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New York Jets at Los Angeles Rams - December 17th, 1989 |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198912170ram.htm |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> He went 12-of-22 for 125 yards with an interception against the Bills in a 37–0 loss that ended up being his final career start.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Buffalo Bills at New York Jets - December 23rd, 1989 |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/198912230nyj.htm |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> In the following season, he was relegated to the bench for all but 28 passes, going 4-for-5 for 64 yards against Tampa Bay in his final appearance in week 16. He retired after the season ended at the age of 31.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tony Eason 1990 Game Log |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/E/EasoTo00.htm |access-date=2024-03-12 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> |
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==Later years== |
==Later years== |
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In 2002, Eason was coaching basketball in the Sacramento area.<ref>{{cite news|title=Super to Hoopster: Sixteen years after starting the Super Bowl, Tony Eason is back home as a coach - in basketball|newspaper=The Sacramento Bee|date=January 31, 2002|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F16A8B31A360F7C&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM}}</ref> |
In 2002, Eason was coaching basketball in the Sacramento area.<ref>{{cite news|title=Super to Hoopster: Sixteen years after starting the Super Bowl, Tony Eason is back home as a coach - in basketball|newspaper=The Sacramento Bee|date=January 31, 2002|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=SB&p_theme=sb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F16A8B31A360F7C&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM}}</ref> |
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==NFL career statistics== |
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{| class="wikitable" |
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|- |
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! colspan="2"| Legend |
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|- |
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| style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"| |
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| Led the league |
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|- |
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| '''Bold''' |
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| Career high |
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|} |
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=== Regular season === |
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{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |
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|- |
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! rowspan="2"| Year |
|||
! rowspan="2"| Team |
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! colspan="3"| Games |
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! colspan="9"| Passing |
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|- |
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! GP !! GS !! Record !! Cmp !! Att !! Pct !! Yds !! Avg !! TD !! Int !! Lng !! Rtg |
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|- |
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! [[1983 NFL season|1983]] !! [[1983 New England Patriots season|NE]] |
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| '''16''' || 4 || 2−2 || 46 || 95 || 48.4 || 557 || 5.9 || 1 || 5 || 35 || 48.4 |
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|- |
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! [[1984 NFL season|1984]] !! [[1984 New England Patriots season|NE]] |
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| '''16''' || 13 || 7−6 || 259 || 431 || 60.1 || 3,228 || '''7.5''' || '''23''' || 8 || 76 || '''93.4''' |
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|- |
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! [[1985 NFL season|1985]] !! [[1985 New England Patriots season|NE]] |
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| '''16''' || 10 || 6−4 || 168 || 299 || 56.2 || 2,156 || 7.2 || 11 || '''17''' || '''90''' || 67.5 |
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|- |
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! [[1986 NFL season|1986]] !! [[1986 New England Patriots season|NE]] |
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| 15 || 14 || 10−4 || '''276''' || '''448''' || 61.6 || '''3,328''' || 7.4 || 19 || 10 || 49 || 89.2 |
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|- |
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! [[1987 NFL season|1987]] !! [[1987 New England Patriots season|NE]] |
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| 4 || 3 || 1−2 || 42 || 79 || 53.2 || 453 || 5.7 || 3 || 2 || 45 || 72.4 |
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|- |
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! [[1988 NFL season|1988]] !! [[1988 New England Patriots season|NE]] |
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| 2 || 2 || 1−1 || 28 || 43 || '''65.1''' || 249 || 5.8 || 0 || 2 || 26 || 61.1 |
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|- |
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! rowspan="2"|[[1989 NFL season|1989]] !! [[1989 New England Patriots season|NE]] |
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| 3 || 3 || 1–2 || 57 || 105 || 54.3 || 761 || 7.2 || 3 || 4 || 45 || 71.2 |
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|- |
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! [[1989 New York Jets season|NYJ]] |
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| 2 || 2 || 0–2 || 22 || 36 || 61.1 || 255 || 7.1 || 1 || 2 || 63 || 68.6 |
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|- |
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! [[1990 NFL season|1990]] !! [[1990 New York Jets season|NYJ]] |
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| 16 || 0 || – || 13 || 28 || 46.4 || 155 || 5.5 || 0 || 1 || 31 || 49.0 |
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|- |
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! colspan="2"| Career !! 90 !! 51 !! 28−23 !! 911 !! 1,564 !! 58.2 !! 11,142 !! 7.1 !! 61 !! 51 !! 90 !! 79.7 |
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|} |
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==References== |
==References== |
Latest revision as of 22:37, 20 November 2024
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Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Born: | Blythe, California, U.S. | October 8, 1959||||||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||||||||||
Weight: | 212 lb (96 kg) | ||||||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||||||
High school: | Delta (Clarksburg, California) | ||||||||||||||
College: | Illinois | ||||||||||||||
NFL draft: | 1983 / round: 1 / pick: 15 | ||||||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||||
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Charles Carroll "Tony" Eason IV (born October 8, 1959) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons, primarily with the New England Patriots. He played college football for the Illinois Fighting Illini. Taken 15th overall by the Patriots in the 1983 NFL draft, he was one of the six quarterbacks selected during the first round. Eason served as New England's primary starter from 1984 to 1986, where he helped the team make their Super Bowl debut in Super Bowl XX. Competing as the starter with Steve Grogan throughout his Patriots tenure, Eason was released during the 1989 season. He spent his final two seasons as a backup with the New York Jets.
Early life
[edit]Eason grew up in Walnut Grove, California, and attended Delta High School in Clarksburg, California, a school with only 250 students at the time.[1] His brother is former professional NFL player Bo Eason. Despite an impressive high school football career, Eason's only scholarship offer from a Division I school came from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. However, he was denied admission due to poor grades,[1] and he opted to attend American River Junior College in Sacramento, California.[2] Eason spent two years playing football at American River in 1978 and 1979.[1]
College career
[edit]Eason transferred to the University of Illinois and sat out the 1980 season.[2] He was 6 feet, 4 inches tall, and weighed 205 pounds when he took over as the starting quarterback for the Fighting Illini in 1981.[2] His first start for Illinois matched Eason against Pitt's quarterback Dan Marino; the Illini lost, 26–6, but Eason made an impressive debut as he completed 23 of 37 passes for 207 yards (slightly better than the 204 yards passing by Marino in the game).[3] In his first season with the Illini, Eason led the Illini to a 7–4 record, but the team was ineligible to play in a bowl game due to sanctions imposed by the Big Ten Conference.[4] Eason completed 248 of 406 passes (61.1%) for 3,360 yards and 20 touchdowns.[4] The Illini ranked third in the nation in passing in 1981, as Eason led the Big Ten in passing efficiency and total offense and set nine conference records, including records for total offense, completions, passing yardage, and passing touchdowns.[4][5] He also edged out Art Schlichter as the quarterback on the Associated Press' All Big-Ten football team.[5]
Eason earned the nickname "Champaign Tony" while playing at Illinois, based upon the city in which the university is located.[6][7]
As a senior in 1982, Eason accumulated a school record 3,671 passing yards and led the Illini to a 7–4 regular season record and its first appearance in a bowl games since the 1964 Rose Bowl. He also broke five NCAA passing records in 1982 and tied four more. The NCAA records set by Eason in 1982 included most total yards per game in a career (299.5), most passing yards per game in a career (300.4), most completions per game in a career (23.9), and most total yards in first two seasons (6,589).[8] Eason finished second in the voting behind Michigan's Anthony Carter for the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the Big Ten.[9]
Eason's final game for Illinois was the 1982 Liberty Bowl, which also marked the last head coaching appearance of Bear Bryant for Alabama. Although Illinois lost the game, 21–15, Eason registered a record 433 passing yards in the game. Eason also threw four of the Illini's seven interceptions in the game.[10]
In the 1983 East-West Shrine Game, Eason led the East team to 26–25 win over a West team led by John Elway. Eason completed 21 of 34 passes for 202 yards and two touchdowns in the game.[11]
Eason still holds many of the school's all-time passing records, including the following:
- Passing yardage in a season – 3,671 (1982)
- Passing yards per game in a season – 333.7 (1982)
- Passing yards per game in a career – 300.4 (1981–82)
- Pass attempts in a season – 505 (1982)
- Pass efficiency in a season – 140.0 (1981)
- Pass efficiency in a career – 133.8 (1981–82)
- Most interceptions in a season – 19 (1982)
- Consecutive pass completions – 14, at Iowa, October 30, 1982[12]
College statistics
[edit]Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
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GP | GS | Record | Comp | Att | Pct | Yards | Avg | TD | Int | Rate | Att | Yards | Avg | TD | ||
Illinois Fighting Illini | ||||||||||||||||
1981 | 11 | 11 | 7–4 | 248 | 406 | 61.1 | 3,360 | 8.3 | 20 | 14 | 140.0 | 87 | -29 | -0.3 | 5 | |
1982 | 12 | 12 | 7–5 | 313 | 505 | 62.0 | 3,671 | 7.3 | 18 | 19 | 127.3 | 73 | 10 | 0.1 | 1 | |
Career | 23 | 23 | 14–9 | 561 | 911 | 61.6 | 7,031 | 7.7 | 38 | 33 | 132.9 | 160 | -19 | -0.1 | 6 |
Professional career
[edit]New England Patriots
[edit]Eason was selected by the New England Patriots in the first round (15th overall pick) of the 1983 NFL draft.[13] He was one of six quarterbacks picked in the first round of the 1983 Draft along with John Elway (1st pick), Todd Blackledge (7th pick), Jim Kelly (14th pick), Ken O'Brien (24th pick), and Dan Marino (27th pick).[14] The idea was for him to eventually take over for longtime starter Steve Grogan, who had gone 5–8 in his last two injury-ridden seasons.
Eason would appear in 72 games (49 as a starter) for the Patriots between 1983 and 1989.[13] His rookie season saw him start the last four games of the year after Grogan started Week 1 through 12 and got them to a 6–6 record, with Eason doing spot appearances, such as being put in to throw the last eleven passes against Cleveland in a rout that ended with Eason throwing his first interception (and then second) in a 30–0 loss. In his first start against the New York Jets the following week, Eason went 13-of-27 with an interception in a 26–3 loss. Eason went 2–2 as a starter, throwing just one touchdown to five interceptions. In 1984, Grogan was named the starter, but Week 3 saw Eason be tapped in to replace Grogan midway against the Seattle Seahawks. He went 12-of-22 for 126 yards and two touchdowns in the 38–23 victory. From that point, Eason started the rest of the season, going 7-6 along the way while completing 259 out of 431 passes (60.1%) for 3,228 yards and a passer rating of 93.4—third best in the NFL. His best game came against the Indianapolis Colts went he threw for a career high four touchdowns in a 50–17 victory.[13] Eason also set an undesirable record in 1984 by being sacked 59 times for a loss of 409 yards; his 59 sacks were the most in NFL history at the time and currently stands as the ninth highest single season total.[15] Eason also led the NFL in interception percentage in the 1984 season with only 1.9% of his passes being intercepted.[13]
Super Bowl XX season (1985)
[edit]In the 1985 season, Eason was the primary starter, doing so for the first six games, which saw New England win three of them but head coach Raymond Berry inserted Grogan during the Week 6 contest against the Buffalo Bills after Eason threw two interceptions that saw the Patriots win. Grogan would be tapped to start the following six games, where New England went on a six-game winning streak until he suffered a broken leg against the Jets in Week 12. Eason became the primary quarterback from that point on, guiding New England to wins in three of their last four games, including a 34–23 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the season finale highlighted by a 50-yard touchdown pass to Stanley Morgan. In total, Eason threw for 2,156 yards but had 11 touchdowns to 17 interceptions. New England clinched a playoff spot as the final Wild Card team and would be on the road for any playoff game they played. It would be a historic one as they became the first team in NFL history since the 1978 wildcard playoff expansion to win three road postseason games to reach the Super Bowl. In the Wild Card Game against the Jets, he threw 12-of-16 for 179 yards with a touchdown as the Patriots beat the Jets 26–14 to win their first playoff game since 1963. He went just 7-of-14 for 117 yards with a touchdown against the Los Angeles Raiders in the Divisional Round, but the Patriots won 27–20 on the strength of forcing six turnovers (including the winning score being a fumble recovery) and offensive play from Craig James to advance to their first AFC Championship Game appearance against the Miami Dolphins, who had not lost to New England in the Miami Orange Bowl since 1966. Eason threw three touchdowns against the Miami Dolphins in the AFC Championship Game to prevail 31–14.[16]
The Patriots made their first appearance in a Super Bowl in franchise history that year, meeting the Chicago Bears with Jim McMahon, Richard Dent, and Walter Payton.[17] The Bears' famed 46 defense defeated Eason and the Patriots in Super Bowl XX, the Bears defense sacked Eason three times for 28 yards. He became the first and so far only starting quarterback in Super Bowl history to not have a pass completion, finishing 0-for-6 with no interceptions for a passer rating of 39.6, and was sacked three times. With the Patriots trailing the Bears 20-3 Eason was replaced with veteran Steve Grogan, but the Patriots still lost the game, by the final score of 46–10, which at the time was the largest winning margin of any Super Bowl.[18] Famed lineman John Hannah stated his preference for Grogan over Eason stating, “Tony should wear a skirt instead of a uniform. When he was hurt before we played the Bears in the Super Bowl, we were hoping he’d stay hurt so Steve could play.”[19] Eason was later stated to have a fever of 101 with what was stated to be a "viral infection." Berry stated that he took out an uncomfortable Eason for Grogan as what he thought was a good move with the score at 20–3.[20]
In 2008, ESPN ranked Eason's performance as the worst (82nd out of 82) in the history of the Super Bowl, noting, "In addition to his awful passing stats, he lost a fumble and not surprisingly was yanked in the second quarter."[21][22]
After Super Bowl XX
[edit]The following season, Eason started in fourteen games, missing two due to injury. He threw for 3,328 yards (on 61.6% passing) with 19 touchdowns to 10 interceptions as the Patriots went 11–5 to clinch their first AFC East title in eight years along with reach the postseason in consecutive years for the first time in franchise history. His passer rating of 89.2 was fourth best in the NFL. He had his best game in passing against the Seahawks that year, throwing a career best 414 yards on 26-of-45 passing in a 38–31 loss.[13][23][24] Due to the playoff structure, they were the third seed travelling to play the AFC West champion Denver Broncos, who hosted as the 2 seed. Eason opened the scoring for New England on a touchdown pass to Stanley Morgan to make it 7–3 in the second quarter, and the teams were tied at 10 at halftime. Eason then threw another touchdown pass to Morgan to give them a 17–13 lead, but the Broncos took the lead back in the same quarter. Eason went 13-of-24 for 194 yards with two touchdowns while Elway threw for more yards on the same amount of completions with two interceptions, but Eason was sacked six times as New England could not capitalize on any of their four drives in the fourth quarter, with Rulon Jones sacking Eason in the endzone (with 1:32 remaining) to cap the scoring off in a 22–17 loss for New England. Denver won the following week to reach the Super Bowl.[25][26] Eason missed the opening game of the 1987 season due to a groin injury, which opened the door for Grogan to play. Eason then started the second week against the New York Jets, a 43–24 loss. The NFLPA strike took place not long after that saw replacement players be used to make up for cancelling Week 3, where the replacements played from Week 4 to Week 6. After that, Eason started the Week 6 game, going 22-of-42 for a touchdown and an interception. He was the starter in the Week 7 game versus the Raiders, throwing just three passes before a tackle by Stacey Toran saw Eason suffer a separated shoulder that ended up knocking him out for the remainder of the season. In a season that saw New England use five quarterbacks, Eason had just two starts.[27][28][29]
In February 1988, Berry designated Grogan as the starter with Eason as the backup. He did not express approval and threatened to sit out the year, which also saw the Patriots consider cutting his base salary ($875,000) by over 25%.[30] Eason did not see the field for the 1988 season until Week 15. He started versus Tampa Bay and went 16-of-27 for 155 yards with two interceptions but managed to win 10–7 in overtime when a pair of his passes hit Irving Fryar to set up a game-winning field goal after Tampa elected to kick after winning the coin toss due to the wind. Eason then visited Denver for the Week 16 matchup as the starter and was 12-of-16 for 94 yards before being taken out late for Grogan in a 21–10 loss that saw New England miss out on a playoff spot.[31][32][33] The 1989 season saw the Patriots keep four quarterbacks in their roster - Eason, Grogan, Doug Flutie, and Marc Wilson, with the latter being insurance for Grogan.[34] Eason won on opening day with a 15-of-23 performance for 273 yards with two touchdowns and interceptions each. This was followed by losses to Miami and Seattle, with the latter seeing him go 17-of-33 for 147 yards with an interception.[32] Eason was benched for Flutie after the game. He was later let go by the team and claimed off waivers by the New York Jets during the 1989 NFL season, after Eason refused to take a cut in pay after he was demoted to fourth-string on New England's roster with team owner Victor Kiam stating that he thought Eason would be the starter with the $2.3-million & two-year contract that he signed. Eason reluctantly joined the team in November after considering not reporting due to not wanting to be in competition with his "good friend" Ken O'Brien. He reported to the team in order to not give up the remainder of his salary.[35][36] He started the last two games of the 1989 season for the Jets, which resulted in him throwing an interception in losses each time.[37] He went 12-of-22 for 125 yards with an interception against the Bills in a 37–0 loss that ended up being his final career start.[38] In the following season, he was relegated to the bench for all but 28 passes, going 4-for-5 for 64 yards against Tampa Bay in his final appearance in week 16. He retired after the season ended at the age of 31.[39]
Later years
[edit]In 2002, Eason was coaching basketball in the Sacramento area.[40]
NFL career statistics
[edit]Legend | |
---|---|
Led the league | |
Bold | Career high |
Regular season
[edit]Year | Team | Games | Passing | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Lng | Rtg | ||
1983 | NE | 16 | 4 | 2−2 | 46 | 95 | 48.4 | 557 | 5.9 | 1 | 5 | 35 | 48.4 |
1984 | NE | 16 | 13 | 7−6 | 259 | 431 | 60.1 | 3,228 | 7.5 | 23 | 8 | 76 | 93.4 |
1985 | NE | 16 | 10 | 6−4 | 168 | 299 | 56.2 | 2,156 | 7.2 | 11 | 17 | 90 | 67.5 |
1986 | NE | 15 | 14 | 10−4 | 276 | 448 | 61.6 | 3,328 | 7.4 | 19 | 10 | 49 | 89.2 |
1987 | NE | 4 | 3 | 1−2 | 42 | 79 | 53.2 | 453 | 5.7 | 3 | 2 | 45 | 72.4 |
1988 | NE | 2 | 2 | 1−1 | 28 | 43 | 65.1 | 249 | 5.8 | 0 | 2 | 26 | 61.1 |
1989 | NE | 3 | 3 | 1–2 | 57 | 105 | 54.3 | 761 | 7.2 | 3 | 4 | 45 | 71.2 |
NYJ | 2 | 2 | 0–2 | 22 | 36 | 61.1 | 255 | 7.1 | 1 | 2 | 63 | 68.6 | |
1990 | NYJ | 16 | 0 | – | 13 | 28 | 46.4 | 155 | 5.5 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 49.0 |
Career | 90 | 51 | 28−23 | 911 | 1,564 | 58.2 | 11,142 | 7.1 | 61 | 51 | 90 | 79.7 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Dan Vierria (January 24, 1986). "Determination and luck moved Tony Eason along". Anchorage Daily News (McClatchy News Service). Archived from the original on May 11, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2015.
- ^ a b c Bob Smizik (September 4, 1981). "Marino Pitt's Man With Golden Arm". Pittsburgh Press-Gazette.
- ^ "Eason, defense pass their first test, but Illini fall to Pitt: Eason passes test, but Illini lose". Chicago Tribune. September 6, 1981.
- ^ a b c George Sauerberg (August 27, 1982). "Bowl Bound? Quarterback Eason has high hopes for the Illini". Milwaukee Sentinel.
- ^ a b Joe Mooshil (December 1, 1981). "Eason Edges Schlichter on All Big Ten". The Argus-Press.
- ^ Ian Thomsen (May 8, 1983). "'CHAMPAIGN' TONY EASON; A NORMAL GUY FINDS HIMSELF IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013.
- ^ "Pitt To Try a Taste of 'Champaign'". Philadelphia Inquirer. September 24, 1982.
- ^ Mike Goens (December 28, 1982). "Eason hard act to follow for future Illini hopefuls". Times-Daily.
- ^ Roy Damer (December 25, 1982). "Michigan's Carter wins Tribune's Silver Football". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013.
- ^ "Tide rolls final time for Bear". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 30, 1982.
- ^ "Tony Eason powers East to Shrine win". The Bulletin (Oregon). January 16, 1983.
- ^ "Individual Records". Fighting Illini (official site). Archived from the original on June 9, 2011. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e "Tony Eason profile". pro-football-reference.com.
- ^ "1983 NFL Draft". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
- ^ "NFL Single-Season Sacked Leaders". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
- ^ "Eason Lets Instincts Lead Him". The Palm Beach Post. January 20, 1986.
- ^ "Tony Eason Leads Patriots With a Cool, Casual Manner: He's Reverse of Bears' QB Jim McMahon". Ocala Star-Banner. January 24, 1986.
- ^ "Bears Trounce Patriots, 46-10, in Super Bowl". Los Angeles Times. January 27, 1986. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
- ^ "He Just Didn't Want to Rock the Boat". Los Angeles Times. June 28, 1988. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ Eskenazi, Gerald (January 28, 1986). "LITTLE CONSOLATION FOR THE PATRIOTS". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ Wachs, Allison (January 22, 2008). "Patriots' Eason bottoms out with an O-fer: From Joe Montana to Tony Eason, ESPN.com ranks the Super Bowl starting quarterbacks from 1-82". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ Klancnik, Rudy (January 23, 2008). "Eason isn't eager to relive his day in the spotlight: Tony Eason would rather not discuss his day as the only Super Bowl starting quarterback to fail to complete a single pass". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ "Tony Eason 1986 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ "Grogan Gives the Patriots Relief--the Steelers Grief". Los Angeles Times. October 20, 1986. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ "Divisional Round - New England Patriots at Denver Broncos - January 4th, 1987". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ Times, William N. Wallace and Special To the New York. "BRONCOS DEFEAT PATRIOTS". The New York Times.
- ^ "PRO FOOTBALL '87 : Patriots Beat Dolphins on Two Costly Mistakes". Los Angeles Times. September 14, 1987. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ "Tony Eason 1987 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ "The strike that drained the last bit of innocence from the NFL". September 16, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ "New England Patriots quarterback Tony Eason, whose..." Los Angeles Times. February 2, 1988. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ "BUCPOWER.COM". www.bucpower.com. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ a b "Tony Eason 1988 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ "BRONCOS DIM PATRIOTS' PLAYOFF HOPES, 21-10". Washington Post. December 31, 2023. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ Baker, Chris (December 9, 1989). "MARC WILSON, STARTING AGAIN". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ "Tony Eason, the former New England Patriots quarterback who... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved January 31, 2024.
- ^ Eskenazi, Gerald (November 2, 1989). "Jets Claim an Unwilling Eason off Waivers". The New York Times. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
- ^ "New York Jets at Los Angeles Rams - December 17th, 1989". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ "Buffalo Bills at New York Jets - December 23rd, 1989". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ "Tony Eason 1990 Game Log". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
- ^ "Super to Hoopster: Sixteen years after starting the Super Bowl, Tony Eason is back home as a coach - in basketball". The Sacramento Bee. January 31, 2002.
- American football quarterbacks
- New England Patriots players
- New York Jets players
- Illinois Fighting Illini football players
- People from Blythe, California
- 1959 births
- Living people
- American River Beavers football players
- Players of American football from Sacramento County, California
- Players of American football from Yolo County, California
- People from Walnut Grove, California