The former teammates reflect on what made Eric Allen a temple of fame – NBC Sports Philadelphia

It didn’t take long for the young William Thomas to realize who he had to follow.

Eric Allen.

“When I arrived for the first time, I saw how Eric studied, how he was still watching the film,” said Willie T. “He had a huge capacity, but he was not just about it. His preparation was incredible. All these guys knew how to prepare – Seth (Joyner), Byron (Evans) – All these guys. But Eric was unreal.

“When you have this kind of capacity and this kind of preparation, you are going to do a lot of games, and Eric did it. He was still playing games.”

Allen and Thomas were teammates with the Eagles from 1991 to 1994, when Allen left for the saints. They met in Oakland in 2000 and 2001 and both retired after the Tuck reign match, the defeat of the Raiders against the Patriots in 2001.

Allen will be inducted at the temple of renowned professional football in Canton, Ohio on Saturday.

All these hours Willie T. spent looking at Allen. He had 27 interceptions of himself, the 11th in the history of the NFL by a secondary. He and Ray Lewis are the only players in the history of the NFL with 35 bags and 25 interceptions.

“Being with Eric allowed me to sit down easily and watch a film,” said Thomas, a professional bowling player after the seasons of 1995 and 1996. “I just watched it and I did what he did. When you go out on the field, it’s like second nature. You are going to play.”

Allen had 54 regular season interceptions and four others in the playoffs. It is the only cornerback in history with 58 total interceptions and nine pick-6.

“You know how much DB are really receptors that cannot catch? Well, it’s not always true, because Eric can catch,” said Thomas during a visit to the Eagles training camp last week. “He did special things. Played as in the jet game (in 1993), where he went, what, 90 yards (94 yards) for a touch?

The broad receiver of the pro bowl, Mike Quik, was only with Allen for three years at the end of his brilliant career, but it was long enough for him to really appreciate what a unique Allen talent was.

“I think the thing that Eric had so special was his ability to change the directions so quickly without losing speed,” Quick told the training camp this week.

“And I thought he was a highly qualified guy who followed the ball and separated the receivers from the ball. I thought he was very qualified in this area. To be honest, I don’t think, except when we had (1981 Pro Bowler) Roynel Young, I don’t know if we had another corner that could align the man to me and give me problems.”

Allen had five interceptions in 1988, including one from Vinny Testaverde to Tampa in his first career match. He and Nate Allen are the only Eagles with INTS in their first NFL match in the past 50 years. The five Allen ints in 1988 are the maximum by any recruit of the Eagles since Herm Edwards had six in 1977.

“When he entered the league, I felt like I was a guy who was ready,” said Quick. “He didn’t really have to spend a lot of time like many recruits learning to play the position.

“He knew how to play. He entered the league ready to play ball. I mean that he needed to come and learn the system that we were running at the time, all that Buddy wanted him to do, but it was a guy who came to the league ready to play mentally and physically.”

The defensive coordinator of the Eagles, Vic Fangio, missed Allen by a year in New Orleans – he led Jim Mora until 1994 and Allen signed with the saints in 1995. But the teams, he was with Faced Allen 12 times during his years with the saints, the panthers and the colts.

Fangio did not draw against Allen, but as a defensive coach, he developed a great appreciation for the choice of 2nd round Eagles in the state of Arizona.

“Yeah, I think he was really sticky in the cover, had a big instinct and good ball skills, which is a large part of the things you are looking for in a corner,” he said. “And he has been excellent for a long time too. I mean, how many years has he played? Fourteen years? It’s long for a corner to play at a high level.

“He was a very good player. He had all the skills, the measurable, but he had big instincts and ball skills, which did him what he was. He did it for a long time and did it at a high level for a long time.”

Allen was elected to the temple of fame in its 24th year of eligibility, the longest wait 4th wait ever voted by the Committee of the modern era.

There are a lot of theories why it took so long, but quickly believes that the defensive line of the Eagles – directed by Reggie White, Clyde Simmons and Jerome Brown – was so dominant that everyone stole under the radar.

“I would say that it is actually similar to what we had last year on defense,” he said. “There were all these speeches on the defensive front, and they were really good, but not so much discussion on the secondary – lets no one catch the ball, Quinyon does not give up a game on his side, these two securitys, how well they played. They do not speak as much as the defensive front was so dominant.

“It was the same thing with us. Maybe the figures don’t jump on how the figures on the rush towards the pass did, but this defense was so good in all areas. The seconds were really good, the security was really good, and what EA could do on one side of the field, just lock a guy, it just made it easier for Buddy to take these guys.”

It was Allen who was so dominant against quickly in practice that Quick realized that his career was coming to an end.

“I took many representatives against him and that made me realize that” OK, my career is coming to an end, “he said. “When I Came Back from my (Knee) Injury (in 1990) and i’m trying to beat prescorge, it was eric allen who gave me from Issues and I had to start thinking about, you know, what’s my next move? Because i’m not used to guys gets we. Stronger Than Most Guys that Played the position, and I can get away from them.

Fangio has resulted in a certain number of renown of the renown temple over the years, notably Sam Mills, Rickey Jackson, Kevin Greene, Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Patrick Willis and Jared Allen. It is quite a list. He knows what a temple of fame looks like.

I asked Fangio before I train on Tuesday if he believes that Allen should be a fame.

“How many interceptions did he have?” Fangio asks.

Fifty-four in the regular season and 58 in total.

“Fifty-eight interceptions?” He said with that smile Vic Fangio. “Yeah. Belongs to the fame of fame.”