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Dawkins: No need for McNabb to change

In an

» READ MORE: interview at the Pro Bowl with NFL Network

,

came out and said what anyone who's watched

over the years knows: he's a better player when he thinks everyone's against him.

"Donovan is just Donovan. I don't want him to change," Dawkins said. "I want him to come back next year with even a bigger chip on his shoulders for whatever reason. Let him make up a reason. I don't care. He plays better when he has a chip on his shoulder because I think he dials in even more."

Earlier this week, ex-teammates

and

» READ MORE: were critical of McNabb

for his comments about the Eagles' defense.

Dawkins, a pending free agent, came to McNabb's defense, saying the Eagles' quarterback is appreciated by many Philadelphia fans.

"The thing about it is this. Philadelphia, it is a tough place to play. Everybody can't succeed in Philadelphia," Dawkins said. "You have to have tough skin. You have to be able to move through booing. You have to be able to play through that stuff on the other side. It's not all of Philadelphia. There are fans that feel that way. But there are other fans that feel like, 'Man, you will never understand what we have until he is gone.' And I don't think he's gonna be gone anytime soon for them to feel that. And he's always handled himself with class. He's always tried to do the right things and saying the right things."

A cool part about the interview was Dawkins didn't even mention the possibility of playing somewhere else next season. Already this offseason, we've heard several guys --

,

,

-- talk about keeping their options and possibly switching teams. Dawkins said as long as he can play at a high level, he wants to continue.

Dawkins sounded optimistic that he'd be back in an interview with

» READ MORE: Birds' Eye View

last week.

By the way, speaking of Houshmandzadeh,

» READ MORE: here is a post from last night

where he said he hasn't been contacted by the Bengals about a new contract.