DAWK TALK
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
DAWK TALK
Bob Brookover
It was a speech that any presidential candidate could have been proud of.
Asked repeatedly about the Eagles' pass coverage in general and his own pass coverage in particular during the Eagles' 41-37 loss to the Dallas Cowboys Monday night, veteran safety Brian Dawkins defended himself extremely well.
"Playing defendsive back, it comes with the territory," Dawkins said. "This is not the first time I've given up a couple of plays and it won't be the last time. It just comes with it. The thing about being in the secondary is you have a short memory. You line up and you play again and that's what I do."
Dawkins said he doesn't expect to be cut slack because he has a resume that includes six Pro Bowls, countless big plays and a lot of big victories.
"No, man, this is Philadelphia," he said. "Do you know where we are? This is Philadelphia. There aren't too many people who are going to be cut slack and I understand that. I'm not going to make a big deal of it because I know those same fans that are questioning what I'm doing will be the same fans who will be hip, hip, hooraying when I grab a pick and take it to the house."
The veteran safety said he doesn't think he's any more limited just a few weeks removed from his 35th birthday (it's Oct. 13) than he was at 22. In fact, he believes he is better.
"I can get to where I need to be in enough time to make the plays I need to make without cheating too deep or putting my teammates in an awkward position," Dawkins said.
And now for the big conclusion, which was prompted by another question about his age.
"I guess this is the age question today," Dawkins said. "I play the game the way I play the game. How I looked at film when I was 22 ... was I hope they don't play-action fake and throw deep because I'm probably going to bite on the fake. That's how I looked at film and how I played the game.
"Now, I recognize formations and I know where I need to be. A lot of times I know where I need to be, but sometimes I make mistakes. I'm not thinking about when I was this age how I ... Kill that! I am 34 years old ... proud of it. Thank you Jesus for allowing me to get to 34 playing in the NFL. I'm going to continue to play this game at a high level for as long as I can. I'm going to protect my body and make sure I'm out there on the field for my guys. I'm going to play ball.
"I'm going to play ball at 34. I'm going to play ball at 35 and whatever else comes out after that, I'm going to play ball. So if I give up a deep ball and you want to say I'm slow, go ahead. Guess what, the next time I'm going to try to make the same play again at 34 or 35 years old. Thank you very much."
And with that, the veteran safety stood up from behind the microphone and made his exit.
Comment removed.
Dawk is in denial.— prez_beck- Comment removed.
- He's going to hurt somebody next Sunday.— Bake McBride
- jesus loves the NFL— jb99
- I find it amazing how we give Dawkins so much slack, but tear down McNabb as soon as he does something wrong. I love Dawkins too, but if you took him away and replaced him with Quenti Mikell, this team could still win 10 games. You absolutely cannot say the same if you took away McNabb and replaced him with Kolb.— TheRock2020
- Dude deserves the benefit of the doubt. Given a lot to the Eagles. Even if he's not at the same level of previous years, still better than most in the league. Plus gotta put some blame on Johnson for the TO-BDawk match-up.— DCExpat
- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- I love Dawkins too...and Trotter before that. Age is the one thing these great players cannot outrun. I wouldn't go so far as to say that Dawk is done, but he has most definitely lost a step. Time to acknowledge that fact.— Nicher
- just cut him..— osi is hurt boohoo
- Dawk should have that attitude, and it was one bad game. Now if he has more games like that one and then comes out and says these same things, then we have a problem. But he's a very sensible, proud individual so it's great to hear him react this way instead of pouting (or hiding) like many other professional athletes do. Hope he comes up w/ a big game on Sunday because it's going to be very tough.— Realistic One
- Critics of Dawk are right...Let's line up Considine and Mikell out there and see how things go (please note heavy sarcasm)...Mikell is a solid football player, but Considine frightens me. Dawk may have lost a step, but he's still light years better than the other options we have. Also, Rock, great point...this town never did realize what it had in #5...— jkm5454
- Yo DOH: Donovan 65.7% passing, 642 yds, 4 TD. Garcia 58.5%, 221 yds, 1 TD. Whatcha smokin' dope?!!— WmsCrew
- I think he knows a little more about what's going on than any fan. If he says he can read plays and get into the right position and not require teamates to compensate for him, he knows better than you or I. One of the things that Philadelphia loves about Dawkins is his straight talk. That's not the type of player who would be in denial. Of course you cut Dawkins slack. He's earned it. One big play after another. Hard worker. Takes responsibility. Leader. Pro Bowls. Yeah, you cut him slack because he's come through at key moments again and again. He's the rock.— MikeP
