Eric Allen spent as much of his NFL career with other teams as he spent with the Eagles.
That doesnt change the fact that he was an Eagle, he is an Eagle and hell always be an Eagle.
Allen, who put up Hall of Fame numbers in his 14-year career as an NFL cornerback, spent the 1988 through 1993 seasons with the Eagles before finishing with the Saints (1995-97) and Raiders (1998-01).
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He stuck it out in Philly longer than most of Buddy Ryans loyal draft picks. Preceding him out the door via free agency were Reggie White (1992) and Clyde Simmons, Seth Joyner and Andre Waters (1993) from the defense, along with Keith Jackson (1991) and Keith Byars (1992) from the offense.
I loved my time in Philly with those guys, Allen said when I interviewed him a couple years ago for the book The 50 Greatest Plays in Eagles History.
If Im ever able to get to the Hall of Fame, itll be because those guys who really pushed me and that fan base who didnt want anything less than your best. I had fun in New Orleans and Oakland, but Ill always be an Eagle.
Allen will receive the highest honor an Eagle can get on Sunday, when hes added to the teams Honor Roll (see Eagles Talk) at halftime of their nationally televised game against the Cowboys.
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Allen is the third member of Ryans defense to go into the Honor Roll. Jerome Brown, who died before the 1992 season began, was inducted in 1996 and White in 2005.
Allen will become the 27th player added to the Honor Roll but only the third defensive back, along with Bill Bradley and Tom Brookshier.
Allen intercepted 58 passes and returned nine of them for touchdowns in his 14-year NFL career -- the exact same numbers as Deion Sanders. Only six other players in NFL history had as many interceptions and INT returns for touchdowns.
He became a starter on opening day his rookie year and went on to start 116 of 118 games in seven years with the Eagles. He shares the franchise interception record of 37 with Bradley and Brian Dawkins.
Eric was just a phenomenal athlete, long-time teammate Seth Joyner said. You hear people all the time talk about how cornerbacks are receivers who dont have hands. Well, you look at EAs career numbers and suffice it to say that wasnt the case. He probably had more touchdowns than a lot of receivers.
Believe it or not, Allen finished his career with more touchdowns than 29 of the 42 wide receivers drafted in 1988.
Any time he got his hands on the ball, he had the intention of getting it into the end zone, Joyner said. He was truly a playmaker. He wasnt looking to go out of bounds, he was looking to score.
E-mail Reuben Frank at rfrank@comcastsportsnet.com