I'm pretty damn pissed off. I don't think I'm alone in the Philadelphia region today. Brian Dawkins is gone to the Denver Broncos. The Eagles, seriously have lost their heart today, cut out and sent packing by that greedy bastard Joe Banner in the front office. So, here's my rant.
Weapon X in Orange and Blue? Yeah, that's a possibility, as Brian Dawkins visited the Denver Broncos on an official free agency visit today.
The Eagles have the 3rd largest cap room, what's the deal here? What's the problem with giving Dawkins a multi-year decent deal, as oppose to handing down a crappy 1 year deal to a guy who's done more bringing in the fans than anyone on the team?
Personally I'm insulted as an Eagles fan that Joe Banner and the crew in the front office can't see the value of this player. He's a fan favorite, he's a leader, and you know what, he's a producer. He can also help bring in the young guys to be just like him. That's worth its weight in gold.
Look what happened when we had the opposite - his name was Terrell Owens.
I think I'm going to start looking for some rope to string Joe Banner and company up by their toes over Lincoln Financial field. Stop the nonsense already and sign Dawkins to what he deserves already, and stop treating us fans like garbage you just ignore!
There's been carnage around the NFL this week, especially in Tampa Bay where who would have thought they'd let Warrick Dunn go, or Baltimore putting Ray Lewis out there? Now with just 1.5 hours to go until Free Agency is upon us, Brian Dawkins is STILL not signed by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Can I just say - "WTF are Banner and Lurie thinking?"
This could all be for not, in a half an hour, the Eagles can put out an announcement that Dawkins has signed a 2-3 year deal, basically to secure him as an Eagle till her retires. This goes way beyond numbers on the field, seriously, this goes right down to the fans. That whole bit about wanting to win a superbowl for the fans.... doing things for the fans.... well for pete's sake, sign Dawkins and lock him in for the fans.
This guy is a leader, I even put it out there that he is "the" leader on the team, "the heart" of the Eagles.
It's bad enough they raised ticket prices during a recession, if they don't sign Dawkins, its like a knife through the heart for us die hards who have come to think of Dawkins as one of our own family. It makes the Eagles really seem like they don't care about the fans in anyway shape or form, just about the money.
And don't label me living in fantasy land, I know that football is a business. That was evident when they let Jeremiah Trotter go last year. But Dawkins? Really now, not signing Dawkins before free agency sets in, just really kicks us in the gut.
Sign Weapon X already..... the man is an Eagle, and deserves to retire as one!
I hoped, I said a little prayer, but I was so afraid to just say "the Eagles will beat the Giants on Sunday". I was afraid I'd jinx my belief that they would win. I think with how all those stars aligned, everyone in Philly is superstitious. From the guys growing beards, to patting my Eagles Snowman that sits on top of my steps, we're all afraid to utter "The Eagles Will XXXXXXXXX".
If there ever was a game that showed that the Eagles are a well rounded team, yesterday's game was it. The defense of course was the MVP of this game, beyond a shadow of a doubt. However, for as much as everyone thinks our only weapon on offense is Brian Westbrook, they need to look deeper. From rookie DeSean Jackson, to Brent Celek, even Donovan McNabb himself, these guys are all weapons that should not be overlooked. While Westbrook and even Buckhalter were mostly contained in the game yesterday, it was the rest of the team that answered the call when it was needed. The fact is, while you can prepare for Westbrook, you also need to prepare for the entire team - something apparently the Giants didn't count on.
And lets talk about that defense. Just WOW! First there was that pick by Asante Samuel (that guy's worth EVERY dollar they spent on him) and then the 3 stands, count them 1, 2, 3 that denied the Giants the 1st down conversion. That was absolutely amazing. 4th and inches quarterback sneak, 3rd and 3 stop on Brandon Jacobs, and another 4th and inches stop, I'm in total agreement with Andy Reid when he says he's got "the best Defensive Corrdinator in the league with Jim Johnson (even though he's like a 100 years old)." The Eagles Defense is probably the best we've seen in this entire tenure under Reid and Johnson, and these guys play with heart and detirmination like no other team in the NFL.
Watching all the post game stuff I could (I'm a junky on that kind of stuff), I saw an interview with Quintin Mikkel and he stated they (the defense) really want to win it all for Brian Dawkins. They all rally around him. Dawkins is the spritirual heart and soul and leader of this team. Dawkins is just that special of a player and a person that he rallied this team even in its darkest hour to believe in themselves when no one else did.
Dare we dream? Could it be possible? Could all the stars be aligned just right? Is this the "ha in your face McNabb/Reid haters" retribution us believers have been hoping for?
We can't be cocky enough to think that the next game is just going to be a slam dunk / home run. The Cardinals the Eagles played on Thanksgiving night, aren't the same team any more. For that matter, neither are the Eagles. The Cardinals though don't seem to have as many weapons, just two big (rather good) recievers, so the passing game is what our boyz are going to have to defend against. If they can just keep putting pressure (of course this is what Johnson does best), on Warner, I'm hoping that'll be enough to silence their offense.
Dare we stop dreaming? Should we ask them to shave their beards? Will I stop patting my Eagles Snowman that sits at the top of my stairs?
Nope... not yet. And I won't stop pinching myself to make sure this isn't a dream either.
The Philadelphia Eagles' season has been extended another week, and another great performance by Donovan McNabb will help to silence the haters. There's no doubt now where Donovan's going to be playing next year, especially after Jeffery Lurie's comments to the Boston Globe which he stated he had "every intention of having him back," for the 2009 season. With that said, the first half of the game, I think some were beginning to wonder if Lurie was rethinking those words.
Whatever adjustments were made in the locker room at half time, made the difference. They locked down Adrian Peterson and contained the one true weapon on the Vikings offense. As "The Gov" pointed out on Comcast Sportsnet's Post Game Live, if you take away that 41 yard running touchdown, the Eagles kept Adrian Peterson at just over 2 yards a carry. In the second half the entire Eagles Defense locked Peterson down entirely, and attacked Jackson constantly.
The offense was also much more in tune in the 2nd half. Finding the right sync, chewing up the clock and everyone working as a team, including Buckhalter filling in for the injured Fullback Dan Klecko who made an amazing block to free up Westbrook to score on that screen pass. I'd wondered what happened to him, especially after he made the amazing break in first half, he explained to Derrick Gunn after the game on Post Game Live what happened.
The defensive as much as the offense was responsible for yesterday's win, and that folks is Teamwork (something Dallas apparently lacks).
For the entire game Donovan had over 300 yards, one of his best games on record. If you look at Donovan's entire season, he's actually had a good season despite the Baltimore game. Some are saying that the benching during that game is what "kicked D-Mac into action". To be honest, I don't think it did. I think D-Mac just had a bad game. Lets face it we all have bad games, only difference is, ours are more private, Donovan's are on national television.
Loosing Donovan McNabb would hurt the Eagles more than help. Seriously, Kolb is not ready in any shape or form. The Eagles loose McNabb, we won't see another playoff run for quite a few years. If it isn't Kolb, who's going to come to the Eagles to lead them? I highly doubt we'd see another quarterback come here the caliber of McNabb.
So lets roll on into the Meadowlands and cheer our birdz onto a repeat performance of the last game against the Giants, and stop all the talk about D-Mac leaving the Eagles. I think Lurie's comments speak volumes, as well as Westbrook's and Dawkins' to the press after the game. I'm hoping Donovan has a longer career here with us, of course I'm not a McNabb hater. :)
In my family this is a bit of a rivalry, my Brother in Law and Sister are avid Giants fans (as well as the Mets), next Sunday is going to be interesting!
*Update - Dawkins signed with the Broncos on 2/28/09, this post still holds true, every word, but the EaglesChick is not happy about Dawkins Leaving.
There's one thing I have in common with Brian Dawkins, the love of Wolverine (Weapon X). Probably the part I look forward to of the games the most is when Brian comes out of the tunnel at the Linc, scratching and clawing just like Wolverine. There's that force you see, that desire to not give up, to keep clawing and scratching until the very end.
I watched an interview with Brian Dawkins on the NFL network today. The man never ceases to impress me. On the field he's this amazing player (whom the Eagles would be wise to re-sign until he retires an Eagle), a leader, even a father figure. He's a force that offenses are forced to reckon with, plan for and above all, respect.
Off the field, he's a gentleman. A christian man who doesn't curse. Who prays, who mentors, who leads. A man that any parent would be glad that their kids idolized, looked up to and modeled their football careers after. The man is just that worthy.
Against the Cowboys this past Sunday, you could see the intensity in Brian Dawkins' mannerisms, the passion in his playing - two stripped balls, just wow! The man was on fire. Did he have something to prove? Was he playing like a man who on he last leg, hoping for a miracle? No, he was playing like Brian Dawkins always does - like Weapon X.
Was this his last game as an Eagle (if every fan in Philly had their way, definitely not!)? Was this his last season wearing the green and silver breath right strip? Was this the last time for him to come clawing out of the tunnel at the Linc? I surely hope not, as probably many of you reading this hope not as well.
There are a lot of players who's contracts are up at the end of this season. Dawkins, Thomas and Runyan are just the top three that come to my mind. While we know Joe Banner shows no mercy when cutting players even though they are fan favorites (look what happened to our beloved Jeremiah Trotter), I think there's a distinct hope among the Eagles fans that the Eagles realize the worth of Dawkins. His worth goes well beyond what he's done on the field. It extends beyond the stripped balls, sacks, tackles and interceptions. This man is a force that most teams would die for. He's respected, he's got character, he's a leader and he's a team player.
Let's hope he retires has an Eagle team player.
Jim Johnson's defensive line this year, is going to look nothing like it has in years past. Looking at the Eagle players listed, this looks like nothing from the past 4 years. Where are the Eagle veterans? The old stall worths that Johnson could readily rely on? Gone are Trotter (who was let go last year after training camp), Kearse (gone after 2007-2008 season) and Takeo Spike (who only lasted a year), was shown the door as well.
So what's ol' Johnson to do? Well he's got to learn as much about all these new guys and how they can work together to become his fast , hard hitting, blitzing dream machine. I guess though for Johnson, it won't be that difficult. It'll now be Chris Gocong's and Omar Gaither's turn to step up and show what else they have after a decent showing last year. The acquisition in the off season are definitely going to require some learning on Johnson's part, too.
Interesting thing about the guys who "remain standing". Not a single on of these guys is a huge, William "The Refrigerator" Perry, type. As described by that guy who writes the "On the Inside" column for the Philly Eagles official site (I can never remember his name, and for some stupid reason they don't put his name on the articles), "There aren't a lot of lard butts along the line. The Eagles don't have a 375-pound anchor inside to clog up the running lanes."
The guys who the Eagles have managed to acquire are quick, fast and potent. They really aren't the huge hulking Warren Sapp type guys. What comes to immediately to my mind, is that Jim Johnson really looked at how Osi Umenyiora of the New Yorks Giants did last year. How this guy's potent speed along with the rest of the Giants' D-Line took what the Eagles learned about the Patriots, and just used the speed to throw that Patriot's offense off. Regardless of whether you like or don't like the Giants, you have to give props to Osi, that guy is one damn fine (fast and hard hitting) player. Remember what he did to D-Mac last year, 8 or 9 sacks in that game, most of the hardest hitting sacks were from Osi.
So what should we expect for the Eagle's Defense this year? Well, I think we'll be seeing a lot more speed, a lot more blitzing (as if there could be much more) and a little bit of a learning curve between players and coaches.
How about you folks still out there reading the Eagles Chick (yes we're back, and we're even going to training camp again!)...... What do you think we'll see out of the D-Line this year?
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