The Philadelphia Eagles continued their slide into NFL irrelevence over this past weekend, by allowing Pro Bowler, future Hall of Famer, and heart-and-soul-of-the-franchise team leader Brian Dawkins to slip away in free agency. He signed a five-year deal with the Denver Broncos.
Part of me gets this. Dawk is 35 years old, which, let’s face it, is old for a safety. He’s had injury issues over the past couple years, and anything involving head and neck injuries in today’s NFL should be a red flag. The Eagles as a franchise have been at the proverbial crossroads now for three years, and may be finally facing the fact that it’s time to get some young players on the squad and to start rebuilding. Dawkins wanted a longer term deal than the Birds were willing to offer, and the Broncos came up with the cash. It makes some sense, at least to fans outside of Philadelphia, I guess.
My question is, where’s the leadership for this team going to come from now?
On most NFL teams, your quarterback is your leader. Sorry, but not here. Brian Dawkins was the man in that department for the Eagles, and now he’s gone. This is going to hurt, a lot, especially as the team tries to rebuild.
Brian Dawkins is not just an outstanding football player. He is also an outstanding man. He plays hard all the time. He leads by example, and by wearing his football heart on his jersey sleeve. He has always been the kind of player that the fans in this town love: total hustle, no pretense. Off the field, he has always seemed to be the same. Genuine. Honest. Classy. Humble. When he spoke publicly of his Christian faith, as many athletes do, I always felt like he was one of the ones who really meant what he said, as opposed to just being someone who struck a believer’s pose when the time suited doing that.
The Eagles are finally – maybe – starting to rebuild. Fans here are going to have to brace themselves for a couple lean seasons, starting this fall.
It just would’ve been easier for all of us if B-Dawk was still here.
And I just hope the fans in Denver appreciate who and what they’re getting.
Good luck, Brian. And thanks.
Filed under: Philadelphia, Ranting & raving, Sports & stuff, Up close and personal | Tagged: Brian Dawkins, NFL, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Eagles, Sports & stuff
