TRUSTS CHOOCH IN A PINCH
The Eagles should have 85 players on the field Friday for the first day of minicamp. None will be wearing No. 20.
When the Eagles were issuing uniform numbers for their newcomers, draft picks and undrafted free agents, No. 20 went unassigned.
The number is synonymous with Brian Dawkins, and always will be in the minds and hearts of Eagles fans. Pity the poor young defensive back who would have been saddled with carrying on that tradition.
The Eagles often have not immediately given out the numbers vacated by popular players when they move on, but indications are that No. 20 has moved into the category of sacred numbers.
Dawkins' No. 20 likely can be viewed like Randall Cunningham's No. 12. The number is not retired, but it has not been worn since Jeffrey Lurie purchased the team.
Reggie White's No. 92 was worn for a day at the first minicamp after Lurie purchased the team, but Lurie put a stop to that and it was not worn again and then was retired after White's death.
The NFL discourages teams from retiring too many numbers simply because teams would eventually run out, especially during training camp and early in the preseason. The Eagles have seven retired jerseys.
The team has 85 players on the roster, with four numbers being worn by more than one player, because of the volume of linemen at this time of year.
In case you are wondering, the vacant numbers other than 12 and 20 are 1, 7, 8, 9, 38, 47, 48, 69, 72, 83, 85 and 94. Tra Thomas had worn 72 and Jon Runyan had 69.
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Ellis Hobbs has proved to be quite loquacious in his few days as a member of the Eagles and he already seems to be enjoying being with the Birds.
He told the Boston Globe that the trade was "like a breath of fresh air."
Now, I'm feeling like somebody wants me, somebody thinks I can do the job, somebody is embracing me with love and wants me here," said Hobbs. "They've already done that. Words only go so far, see. We'll see what's done from here."
Hobbs also talked about being reunited with former New England teammate Asante Samuel:
"There is a mutual respect," said Hobbs. "I'll go on the record and say there was no animosity. There was never a dispute. Or something like 'he's showing me up' or 'I'm showing him up' or anything like that, man. We enjoyed each other's company."
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To read our earlier posts, click here:
Scout's take on the Eagles draft
What We're Watching, Minicamp Edition
Les
Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News
since 2002.
Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les
only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no
penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite
what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News
from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much
lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their
two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
E-mail Les at bowenl@phillynews.com
and follow
him on Twitter.
Paul
Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982.
He has spent most of his nearly 3 decades with the paper covering the
Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a
selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre
and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo started his career in Texas,
working first for the Midland Reporter-Telegram (1976-78), and then for
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas
Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually was
boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose 2 sports coats to
blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley,
a University of Oklahoma grad who still hasn’t gotten over
that Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State 5 years ago, have 2 terrific
daughters -- Allison, 28, who is an attorney in South Jersey, and Amy,
25, who works in administration for a professional baseball team.
E-mail Domo at PDomo@aol.com and follow
him on Twitter.
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