Philadelphia Eagles fans are passionate, knowledgeable and blindly loyal. It is that blind loyalty that is impairing the vision of many fans across the Delaware Valley when it comes to Brian Dawkins.
Many want to quickly rush to his defense and chastise the Eagles organization for failing to resign the future Hall Famer and all-time Eagles great. Few players in the history of this city have ever been as universally beloved as Brian Dawkins—so few players departures have stung quite so bad.
The reasons are obvious. Brian Dawkins embodies everything this city craves in a professional athlete; namely he seems to get every ounce of potential out of his body through sheer effort. When word came that the swirling rumors on his signing with the Denver Broncos were true, there was an uproar heard up and down the banks of the Delaware River. Jeffrey Lurie, Joe Banner and Andy Reid were ripped to shreds for being cheap, incompetent and ruthless.
Few fans, if any, have criticized Brian Dawkins for being greedy. The stark truth is that the Eagles offered Brian Dawkins a two-year deal. The terms of that offer have not been disclosed but they did offer him the length he desired. And it is not unreasonable to expect a home-town discount if you are the Eagles front office. It was Brian Dawkins that made the choice to fly the coup for greener pastures (or in this case oranger). I don’t begrudge him for making that choice; he is a smart businessman that made a business decision.
It may turn out that the Eagles said some things in the negotiations that offended our beloved safety that caused him to spurn their offer. But again I ask: is it the Eagles fault for dealing in reality or Dawkins’ for expecting to be paid for past accomplishments? On the football field, Brian Dawkins is not nearly the player he once was. As I have said before, he is still effective when used close to the line of scrimmage in run support and as a blitzer. But flip that statement around and it means he is no longer effective in deep zones as a pass defender. The Eagles constantly had to game plan around Brian Dawkins to hide his decencies. Is that a guy that sounds like a safety that should be paid among the highest in the league? I realize Dawkins’ value is more than just what he brings between the lines; it is just as much about what he brings between the walls in the locker room. Leadership can only take you so far and it hasn’t led the Eagles to the promise land yet so they obviously made a personnel decision to go in a different direction.
My intent is not to discredit what Brian Dawkins meant to this franchise and what he has accomplished thus far over his illustrious career. In fact, to start of this column on Eagles free agency I wrote that I thought it was a foregone conclusion he would be back in an Eagles uniform next year. I, like most Eagles fans, could not fathom Dawkins in another uniform. But if players like Reggie White, Brett Favre and Joe Montanna can finish their career in different uniforms, we would be naïve to think that it can’t happen to Brian Dawkins.
The Eagles front office definitely shoulders some of the blame here—namely letting Dawkins get to free agency in the first place. But Brian Dawkins was the one that put pen to paper. Shouldn’t we at least question his role in this?
I understand what you are saying but I completely disagree. If they were even close on money he would have stayed. What hasn’t come out and may never is that they upset in somehow other than just the money. He keeps saying he will discuss it but now is not the time. While he definitely went with a more lucrative deal, it was a deal he should have never even seen numbers on. He got on a plane to Denver because of something they said or did. I don’t blame him one bit.
I believe that it is easy to blame the Eagles organization for what happened with Brian Dawkins, but it wouldn’t be right. He just got an incredible offer from the Broncos which the Eagles weren’t inclined to match. I am not sure how many of us thought B-Dawk should (or would) get a five year contract. I hope that he plays out the five years and cements his status as a Hall of Fame player. Realistically, I am not certain he’d last that long, but I will pull for him nonetheless.
The real question is what to do next. I am not sold on Quintin Demps as my last memory of him was seeing him self-destruct in the NFC Championship game. He was a rookie so I’ll give him a pass, but we have to get a second option there. There’s a big hole at free safety that this team must address if they want to compete for the Super Bowl next season.
If you want to talk about reality, the question then is, are the Eagles better next year with or without Dawkins. I argue they are better with. No, he is not the same player, but Demps may be faster and younger, but not smarter and he is not a physical safety. We just lost the most intimidating guy on the defense, so how can people say he didn’t deserve to be paid accordingly? He will get 7 mill guaranteed, so he isn’t worth 3.5 a year if he plays 2 years? When the team has 48 million to spend? I just don’t see how any blame goes to Dawkins. He was put in a position by the team where he left to loom elsewhere. That says to me, they took a hard line with him that I don’t agree with.
They paid Darren Howard $3.2 million last year and LJ $4.5 million. But, Dawkins isn’t worth that cuz he has lost a couple steps? Are the Eagles really dealing in reality?
Tone is this guy related to you!!! j/k. Good post but i completely disagree. Eagles should have paid, why? Because dawk made every player on that defense accountable and play harder..you cant put a price on that.
That’s a question that’s being asked too early, in regards to the Eagles being better next year with or without Brian Dawkins. The quick answer would be “with,” however we need to see what else happens throughout the offseason and what else happens to B-Dawk in terms of skill to produce a fair answer. And to be clear, I would never make the case for Quitin Demps because I just mentioned he played poorly the last time I saw him, so I am not sure how I would be able to endorse him.
If it was a money thing, I probably would have gave Dawk whatever he wanted for this year, and the number would be less the year after. I might be wrong, but I am not certain it was all about the money. Perhaps it had something to do with the length, too. A guy would rather be under contract for five years rather than two, from a psychological standpoint; not that it matters since a guy may be cut at any time. But who knows if that is what it came down to.
I see you threw Darren Howard’s cap number out there. It wasn’t a bad deal, considering he got us ten sacks last year. LJ was a waste of money though! If your point is that the Eagles should have paid B-Dawk at least 4.5 million this coming season, I would agree.
My point is that they payed Lito, LJ, and Reggie Brown over 10 million but Dawkins wasn’t worth the guaranteed 7-9 million he got for 2 yeasrs from Denver? Did anyone see the interview Dawk gave to Daily News that just went up on philly.com? I’m telling you, there is something we are missing here, and my guess is it cam from the Eagles side. He doesn’t sound like a guy who is entirely thrilled with the situation. Granted, he could have signed here, but I think he would have if they had handled it properly. Here’s the link…http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/Final_Thoughts_on_Dawk.html
Posting from a bberry so apologies for spelling and brevity. Past contracts are not relevant. Of course those were bad deals but we are saying it after the fact. My point is we are just assuming the eagles must have saud something do piss him off. The real questuin is what? Ill respond more later but the basic point is he has ti share some blame. This was not a money decision by the birds it was personell.
Going to try this again as the whole Blackberry thing didn’t work so well. But first off, thanks to everyone for stopping in, I appreciate the debate!
I don’t how we can sit here and say “the Eagles must have done something to make him mad” as the sole reason for not blaming Dawkins one bit. Of course the Eagles did something to piss him off–they wouldn’t pay him like a top-flight safety and probably told him why. My guess is that was enough to make him feel disrespected. And like I said above, past contracts are completely irrelevant here. Sure, the Eagles would take back most of those deals (with the exception of Howard) but to say that after the fact does not apply to the Dawkins siutation. Look, I loved the guy as much as anyone. I have said repeatedly here that I thought the Eagles should bring him back. It didn’t happen that way but the Eagles did make an offer. HE chose not to accept it and that is why some of the blame goes to him. We’ll in time find out what was said in those meetings but my guess is it was something to the effect of: “Listen Brian, you are a great football player and teammate and you meant a lot to this franchise, but you are no longer one of the best safeties in the league and we won’t pay you as such.” I’m sure for a guy with as much pride as Dawkins that would be enough for him to feel disrespected. I hope Dawkins has productive seasons for the Broncos. I am merely saying that you can’t paint this picture with a broad brush just because you are passionate about what Dawkins means to the city and the team–it is far more complicated than that.
If it’s just personnel, then why are the rumors out that they are not comfortable with Demps starting? Name me 5 safeties that are better than Dawkins. It’s a common theme that Dawkins made the Pro Bowl based on past accomplishments. That’s BS. He played as well as any safety in the league for 3/4 of the season. Did they change his role in the defense? Sure. But, until the NFC Championship game I didn’t hear anyone complaining about the Eagles defense. Kinda weird to say a guy isn’t one of the best safeties the year after he made the Pro Bowl. It just makes it worse that it’s Brian Dawkins. I am not sure I trust the Eagles to always be right with personnel. This is the same team that has tried to play a year without a return man and a fullback. How can anybody say that he shouldn’t get paid? Go back and watch the tape. Better yet, just listen to Ray Didinger. He has forgotten more football than any of us know. I’m saying this is bigger than you are making it. I don’t agree with it on any level, but let’s remember this is an organization that hasn’t won squat. Remember those talented teams that could never win it all in the late 80’s and early 90’s? What happened to them? Reggie White left for Green Bay, and slowly but surely none of them wanted to stay with the team. That’s why this is bigger. At some point, these players are going to start jumping ship because they are tired of the management.
Five safeties that are better? Ed Reed, Troy Polamalu, Bob Sanders, Adrian Wilson, Kerry Rhodes, Tanard Jackson. He did play well last year, no doubt about that. But if you go back and watch the tape as you suggest, he started to play better once the Eagles realized after the Cowboys game they need to use him differently. And when I say it was a personell move, I mean it wasn’t solely about cutting cost. The Eagles did not belive Dawkins had much left in the tank. Could they be wrong? Sure. But history tells us they have been pretty damned good when it comes to aging veterans. And again, just to be clear, I WANTED Dawkins back. I thought the Eagles should have signed him. I just don’t think you can excuse Dawkins of all blame when he had essentially, two, two-year deals in front of him and he chose more money over the team that has paid him for the last 13 years.
Are you reading anything he is saying? It’s obvious it was more thna just a few million dollars with the deals. You are making it sound like they offered him a nice deal and Denver offered him way more so he went with the money. I highly doubt it. He was quoted as saying “it hurts” and he doesn’t want to get in a “hissing match”. You are right they made a personnel choice based on their hard line stance on aging players. Again it’s more than just football that is the problem. This just looks bad. It has already started. Sheldon Brown is quoted as wondering if they could do this to Dawk, it makes you wonder. Hmm. You are right that they changed his role after the Cowboys game, and I seem to remember the Cowboys lighting up the Eagles D. That didn’t happen after that game. I’m actually offended about the safeties you just listed! Jackson? All 70 tackles and 1 pick of him? Polamalu plays strong safety. Bob Sanders plays SS and can’t stay on the field. Rhodes? Really? Wilson is SS. Come back with guys that actually play the same position. I hope that was tongue in cheek.
We can do this all day, and we won’t agree. I think the Eagles should have brought Dawkins back. That seems to be getting lost here. I do not want to see him in another uniform.
I am listening to what he is saying, and that is my point–why do we only go by what he is saying. Did he feel betrayed? Yes. No doubt. But maybe he felt betrayed because his perception of his value was not where the Eagles was. And as far as Brown’s quote, I don’t put much weight into that. Those types of quotes come out every time an aging vet leaves. They said it when Troy Vincent and Trotter left. In the end, a player won’t turn down a contract in Philly if they have the money to spend. It just won’t happen. In terms of SS or FS, you said: “name a safety that is better than him” NOT, “name a FS that was better.” Which was an approraite statement because Polamulu is a SS only by name, he essentially used in much the same role as Dawkins was in his heyday. Same goes for Sanders and Wilson. And if you want to play that card, a FS tends to be a center-field, roving type player, the types of skills Dawkins no longer posses. In many respects, he was not a FS this past season.
But in any event, I don’t want to get into disparaging Dawkins. I think he is a very good player that probably has one productive season left in the tank. That is in no way the argument I made in my post or in my comments. My only point is Philly fans are completely blinded by past sentiment. It’s not rationale and we need to consider the possibility that maybe the Eagles made a fair offer and he was just not satisfied with it.
I win, you lose!….THAT’S HOW YOU DEBATE!!!!
Not sure where you won? I still don’t agree with you and you don’t agree with me. Far from a victory.
I was just being a jackass…and also quoting “Old School”!
WoW! And I thought me and my brother could debate. Impressive guys. I’ve blogged about Dawk endlessly already, so I’ll be brief. Dawk will likely play mostly SS in Denver. The Eagles already have a top-notch SS. Give Demps a chance. None of us know yet what kind of player he is.
Thanks for dropping in Scott. My brother and I don’t often agree on these types of issues, especially when his man-crush for Brian Dawkins is clouding his vision. I’ll admit, I am wary of handing the reigns to Demps at FS–I think he will be a player some day but I’m not sure if that day is next season. I don’t envy the kid either, he is walking into expectations that will be impossible to fulfill and will be under a microscope all season long if the Eagles do end up using him as the starter.
Interesting how they are now shopping for a safety. So personnel wise they won’t sign Dawkins, but aren’t ready to start his backup, while all the while sitting on 40 million bucks. Genius!