The Sets
Releasing first this month is the NFL: Philadelphia Eagles – 10 Greatest Games DVD set. It’s a well packaged, fine looking ten disc set that comes in a book-like DVD case. There are no extras, no intros, no bull, just complete games presented in their original broadcast format — a real treat to the hardcore fan, which is exactly who these sets were created for. Now, at the start of each game, there is a brief still image disclaimer that warns viewers that all attempts were made to keep the presentation as solid as possible, in terms of image and audio quality. However, due to problems with the original recording, some miscues and/or missing plays could happen. In my experience, while I haven’t watched all of the games of any full set yet, I’ve not noticed anything wrong with the job Warner has done here.
That said, this Eagles set releases on August 11th, tomorrow. It includes the following games:
01. Vs Giants (November 19, 1978). This game is also known as the Miracle At the Meadowlands.
02. Vs Cowboys (January 11, 1981). NFC Championship game.
03. Vs Redskins (September 17, 1989). Final score 42-37, with the Eagles winning late in the 4th.
04. Vs Redskins (November 12, 1990). The Eagles manage to injure, like, nine Redskins players in this hard fought victory…
05. Vs Lions (December 30, 1995). The great Barry Sanders is held to a paltry forty rushing yards while the Eagles go on to score nearly sixty points.
06. Vs Steelers (November 12, 2000). A field goal in overtime gives them a comeback win.
07. Vs Packers (January 11, 2004). A incredible fourth down play leads to victory.
08. Vs Cowboys (December 28, 2008). I still smile when I think about seeing this one on TV. The Eagles romp over their division rival Cowboys, 44-6.
09. Vs Falcons (January 23, 2005). McNabb and the Eagles earn a trip to the SuperBowl after winning this NFC Championship game against Vick and the Falcons.
10. Vs Cowboys (October 8, 2006). Philly fans are a tough crowd, and Terrell Owens heard it during this, his first game back to Philadelphia after having left them.
The Eagles have always been one of my favorite teams, but not one that I follow closely. It was cool to see some vintage Randall Cunningham, who I remember as a young NFL fan.
The next DVD set due for release is the Vikings one. Due out August 18th, this Five Greatest Games set contains five discs and these games:
01. Vs 49ers (January 9, 1988) – The Viks, led by Wade Wilson, manage to defeat the heavily favored 49ers in San Fran, during the Playoffs.
02. Vs Cardinals (January 1, 1999) – A 20 point win in the Playoffs against the Cardinals.
03. Vs Cowboys (January 9, 2000) – A fairly straight-forward win against the Cowboys.
04. Vs Chargers (November 4, 2007) – Adrian Peterson, likely Hall of Fame bound at this rate (although it’s too early to be completely sure), runs for 296 yards. Yeah.
05. Vs Giants (December 28, 2008) – The Vikings manage too eek out the Giants in this Playoff game.
To be honest, even though I’m not a big Vikings fan, when I saw this Greatest set come in, I was hoping for some vintage Viking games, like from the 60s when Fran Tarkenton and crew were dominant. It’s a shame nothing like that was included.
The other two sets we got in for review were the 49ers Five Greatest and the Giants’ Ten Greatest Games. Both of these are due out August 25th. The Giants’ games are:
01. Vs 49ers (January 4, 1987) – The 49ers get destroyed, 49-3, in the Playoffs.
02. Vs Redskins (January 11, 1987) – Giants Defense holds the Redskins to 0 points in the NFC Championship game.
03. Vs Broncos (January 25, 1987) – Their SuperBowl XXI victory over the Broncos.
04. Vs Bears (January 13, 1991) – The Giants blow out the Bears 31-3 in the Playoffs.
05. Vs 49ers (January 20, 1991) – The Giants edge out the 49ers 15-13 in the NFC Championship.
06. Vs Bills (January 27, 1991) – One of several heartbreaking games for the Bills in the SuperBowl.
07. Vs Eagles (January 7, 2001) – The Giants beat division rivals from Philly in this Playoff game.
08. Vs Vikings (January 14, 2001) – A week after beating the Eagles, the Giants destroy the Vikings 41-0.
09. Vs Eagles (September 17, 2006) – Eli Manning proves he can lead a comeback.
10. Vs Patriots (January 27, 2008) – Who can forget? One of the greatest games in NFL History, when the Giants comeback to knock off the heavily favored, undefeated Patriots. Man that was awesome, still gives me chills.
And, saving the best for my last, in my humble opinion as I am a long time 49ers fan:
01. Vs Bengals (January 24, 1982) – SuperBowl XVI, the 49ers orchestrate a late game comeback to defeat the Bengals of Cincy.
02. Vs Dolphins (January 20, 1985) – Their second SuperBowl win.
03. Vs Bengals (January 22, 1989) – And their third.
04. Vs Broncos (January 28, 1990) – A blowout win against the Broncs for their fourth World title.
05. Vs Chargers (January 29, 1995) – The best offensive NFL team ever assembled in my opinion. The defense was superb, too. The 9ers cruise to their record-setting fifth SuperBowl win.
Wrap Up
All four of these sets have similar packaging and menus, which are nicely done. The presentation quality on all of these is just fine too, I have no complaints as WHV literally just tried to port over the original broadcast recording of these games, sans commercials and SuperBowl halftime shows where applicable (I don’t think anyone is going to miss those). For fans of the teams, while they may not agree with the games included on these discs, it’s still nice to see a set like this being put together by a major studio. Keep them coming, and don’t be afraid to dig deep into the NFL Films Archive would be my only advice to WHV.