Free agent players who join an NFL team just days prior to a season opener are few and far between. But that was the case with defensive back Terry Hoage, who joined the Eagles a mere four days before the 1986 campaign got underway and just eight days after the third-year safety was released by the Saints.

"It seemed like a year. The days go by very, very slowly," laughed Hoage, a two-time consensus All-America at Georgia. "I had been drafted in New Orleans by Bum Phillips and Wade Phillips was the defensive coordinator. When Bum retired and they replaced him with Jim Mora, Wade had gotten a job as defensive coordinator for Buddy Ryan in Philadelphia. And so I got waived and picked up by Buddy, I'm sure because of Wade.

"Getting waived on the last cut of training camp is really about the worst time you could possibly get waived because teams have made moves and they kind of have set rosters. Unless they have a very particular need, you usually would have to wait a few weeks into the season as people get hurt to get picked up. So I was very fortunate."

DB Terry Hoage

Philadelphia was fortunate to have Hoage on its roster when All-Pro free safety Wes Hopkins suffered a season-ending knee injury in the fourth game. Having been the starting strong safety in New Orleans the year before, Hoage took over for his fallen teammate at the new position.

"There's a little bit of difference (between strong safety and free safety)," Hoage said. "The proximity to the play, the angles you have to take, what they ask you to do. In Buddy's defense, the 46, the strong safety lined up on the weak side of the formation, kind of as a weakside linebacker. I felt really comfortable there because basically that's the position that I played my entire collegiate career -- a weakside linebacker/strong safety kind of thing."

Hoage became a linebacker/strong safety/intercepting machine kind of thing in 1988. Although used as the fifth defensive back in nickel situations, he led Philadelphia with eight interceptions, the most by an Eagle since Bill Bradley had nine picks 16 years earlier.

"I was just having a whole lot of fun," said Hoage, who earned second-team All-NFC honors in 1988. "Wes had gotten well and Buddy decided to let him play the first couple of downs and then I got to play nickel stuff. I was pretty happy with it. I got to play quite a bit and I think it just kind of fit my abilities.

"Plus, the defensive line that we had in front of us at that time was amazing -- Jerome (Brown), Reggie White, Clyde Simmons, and Seth Joyner was up playing linebacker. When you've got those kind of guys in front of you, playing defensive back is easy."

Not only did Hoage enjoy an outstanding season, but so did the Eagles. By winning six of its last seven games, Philadelphia finished 10-6, its first winning season in seven years, and captured the division title.

"Buddy used to say, 'Winning cures all ills,'" Hoage said. "I came up there in '86 and that was a tough year. The next year was the strike year. But when we came back, we all kind of stayed together and that's when the team really started to turn around.

DB Terry Hoage

"I don't know if Philadelphia ('s fans) felt as good about what we were doing in '87 as we did, but in '88, it was kind of the fruition of that hard work. There's nothing like winning in Philadelphia. The fans are awesome. They like to see people do well. It was really a great experience for me and my wife to live in Philly at the time. You were a special guy. You were a Philadelphia Eagle."

After concluding his 13-year playing career (including five years with Philadelphia), Hoage now makes a living as a farmer and winemaker. He and his wife, Jennifer, purchased a 26-acre vineyard in Paso Robles, Calif., five years ago (terryhoagevineyards.com) and reside there with their children -- Christopher, 18, and Natalie, 16.

"I tried a couple of things when I was done playing ball," Hoage said. "I did the stocks and bonds thing and a couple of other things to see if I liked it, but everything was in an office. I'd spent my entire life outside in the weather, in the elements, and it was really hard for me to sit in an office. I just really didn't enjoy it.

"Farming is physical work. Sometimes it's hard work. But I get to be outside no matter what the weather. Another thing I like about it is I get to do something different every single day. One day I might be a winemaker. Another day I might be a tractor repairman. Another day I might be doing something with marketing. I get to run the gamut and so it keeps me interested because I get to do totally different disciplines, maybe in the same day.

"I didn't think that I would, but as I've gotten into this business, I've started to go back and think about my football career. I did have the luxury of being able to do basically anything that I wanted to do and I ended up owning a vineyard and a winery. But I wanted to pay homage to football because it did allow me to do something with this portion of my life that is completely different than anything that I've done before.

"So actually in the wines that I make, I name them after something related to football, but without beating people over the head with it. I have a Syrah that's named 'The Hedge.' Playing football at the University of Georgia is called playing between the hedges. The second wine that I made, which is a Grenache-Syrah, I pay homage to Buddy Ryan. It's called 'The 46' because I loved playing that defense."