Dawkins on McNabb/T.O. spat: I tried
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Dawkins on McNabb/T.O. spat: I tried
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
With the start of the 2012 season about three months away, Donovan McNabb is still without a team. And with each passing day, at 35 years old, retirement seems like it might be the only option.
Terrell Owens, meanwhile, last caught a pass in the NFL in 2010. Last week, he managed to get himself kicked off of an IFL roster.
It was eight years ago that the pair teamed up to deliver the most memorable Eagles season of the Andy Reid era. McNabb completed 64 percent of his passes, while tossing 31 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. Owens caught 77 balls for 1,200 yards and 14 touchdowns, returning from injury and delivering a nine-catch, 122-yard performance in the Super Bowl.
But we all know what happened after that: One of the most famous break-ups in Philadelphia sports history. And Eagles great Brian Dawkins had a front-row seat.
Talking to Rich Eisen on his NFL Network podcast, Dawkins opened up about the McNabb-Owens spat. One of the greatest leaders in franchise history, he confirmed that he tried to play the role of mediator, but could never get through to both guys.
"I was in a place at that time that it didn't matter what it was," Dawkins said. "If it was something that was detrimental to the team, I wanted to be involved in it. If my hand was needed in it, I was going to be in it.
"What I tried to do was pull guys to the side, away from everybody, and just have conversations with them. 'What's going on? What's the deal? What can I do to help? This is what we need to do to get back on the winning track, and if I can assist in any way, let me know. Even if you don't let me know, this is what I'm willing to do. This is what we need to do in order for us to get this thing going in the right direction.'"
But apparently, Dawkins' words fell on deaf ears.
"The thing that you always want to do is get everybody in the room at the same time," he said. "That was never able to be done."
While Dawkins said he's at peace with his decision to retire, he admitted that his biggest disappointment was not winning a title for Philadelphia.
"At the end of the day, I knew what we needed to win football games, and we needed those two dudes to be on the same page," he said. "It was never able to get back there."
Asked if the spat tore the team apart, Dawkins said yes, to a degree.
"It's just division. Once you start having people questioning the direction of the team period, if everybody's not going in the same direction for whatever reason, there's going to be division, and you don't want division because you already got things going on with other teams."
Looking ahead, Dawkins did not sound surprised with the direction Owens' career has headed.
"I really hate the fact that it's continuing to go down this path because of other things that have come out previously about T.O.," he said. "One of the things that I always said is that when his talent was no longer of use to people, that the way that he treated some individuals could come back to haunt him. And hopefully it's not 100 percent going down that path, but it really is looking that way."
As for McNabb, Dawkins gave his former teammate a strong vote of support, recommending that a team take a chance on him one more time as a starting quarterback.
"With what he's doing this offseason, I believe it'll pay dividends," Dawkins said, adding that he was surprised by reports criticizing McNabb's work ethic with the Redskins and the Vikings.
"I've worked out with him," Dawkins said. "I would go down to Arizona and we would work out. Even during the season, when we were in Philadelphia, there would be a couple times a week when he was not doing his quarterback duties... that he would come in there and work out with myself, Trot. We would go in there and really get some good work in. And so, for anybody to question his work ethic, that surprised the heck out of me."
Discussing McNabb's weight gain, Dawkins said, "Donovan was always a guy whose weight was going to fluctuate from time to time. He's one of those individuals who can pick up weight like that, so he has to stay on top of things. I would see his weight fluctuate during the season from time to time, but it was no big deal."
Dawkins added that he understands the criticism of McNabb, but said now is the time to take a chance on him.
"For him to go into those two situations and come out the way that it came out, I see why everybody would question that. I see that," he said. "If there is a year that he's going to be able to show what he can truly do on the football field with a chip on his shoulder, it'll be this year. If a team was going to take a chance, it would be this year because of what he's doing off the field. If not, then, it is what it is."
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I know I'll get flambeed for this: McNabb is a brilliant option for the 2012 Eagles - as their backup QB. If he's in shape and Vick goes down for a lengthy stretch- I believe McNabb, knowing this offense, could step in- and be very effective. More so than Edwads or Kafka...just a thought, I know it won't happen, but it does make sense.— mebphila- stop it. — chilenos
- I think it makes sense. But I don't think McNabb accepts that his only option is a backup.
And unless he accepts that role, he will be a distraction to the team.— fmMD - What meb?! Just because what you say makes sense..? Ummm... your right - lol... but not from me. I'll go a step further, our season goes well, but one of are safeties gets injured, what do we do, what do we do..?! Beautiful Sunday - enjoy all..!— highfive
- McNabb can step in but TO was a big reseason we made it to the superbowl. He's not an option for this team so who can Vick or McNabb throw the ball too and be confident they will step up. Plaxico is still out there not sure why the eagles are still waiting for him to sign somewhere else.— Yes_General
- The Eagles never won a playoff game that T.O. played in. So to say TO was a big reason why they got to the superbowl is a little off. TO didn't play in any playoff games besides the superbowl. The eagles team was very good that year, had like 12 pro bowlers, thats why they got to the superbowl. They would have been in the playoffs anyway if they didnt get him and he didnt play in the playoffs so conventional wisdom suggests that the eagles would have gone to the superbowl anyway.
That said, they should have gone to two more superbowls with or without TO. and if people checked their ego's at the door there's at at least one parade down broad street.— mundiff - I agree 101% with that statement mundiff. they beat both the Vikings and the Falcons in the playoffs WITHOUT Owens and had developed chemistry with Westbrook, Mitchell, Chad Lewis, L> J. Smith, and Lewis (Greg)who, ironically, broke his ankle catching a pass. Owens went down in week 15 after being horse-collared by that idiot Roy Williams. Mitchell (and his hands ) was doing just fine and in fact, delivered two (2) touchdowns receptions vs the Vikes during the playoffs. The return of the master egotist, Owens broke that chemistry and they couldn't pull off the SB wind vs the Patriots. I'll always believe that Reid's succumbing to Owens' egotistical belligerence contributed as much as anything to the Eagles defeat because, during Owens' absence, the Eagles tended to spread the ball around more thus getting valuable contributions from more players. — essell
Comment removed.- You haven't seen everything, The One - we still need to win a Super Bowl!— Mike in LA
- How can T.O. be the big reason the Eagles made it to the Super Bowl, when he missed the last two games of the regular season and all of the playoffs with a severe ankle sprain? He returned before expected to play a good game in the Super Bowl, but you got it backwards the Eagles got T.O. to the Super Bowl.— Donkey Punch
- Right, and, I might add they tended to cater to Owens ego by calling more plays intended to get him the ball and thus head off any possible verbal repercussions from him. They were just plain scared of, and intimidated by, Owens' belligerent persona. Prior to his return, they were purring along like the proverbial fine-tuned engine. — essell
- Character is the important X factor after talent. Dawk had it and the other two didn't.— sacharok
- no Donkey. thats not really accurate. I was at the first game of the T.O. era...they crushed the Giants...he had like 3 touchdowns...he opened up everything in the offense similiar to how people always claim that Djax does, except he was 6'2 had size and strength and caught the tough catches as well. So if you think djax opens up anything T.O was x5. He made the entire offense and team better. Plus he had a swagger that rubbed off on a relatively boring team and gave them confidence. He was ONE OF THE BIGGEST REASONS they had the success they had that year flat out. and without him Adny Reid never had a season as good again, before, or after. Him missing two easy playoff games is inconsequential as they had the #2 defense as well. With him on the field they were possibly the best team in the league. But Andy screwed it up as usual with horrible playcalling and Bellichek got a 3rd superbowl. Andy is like 0-5 vs Bellichek. .380 vs all winning teams. total garbage.— CharlieGarner25
- Bring back Donnie Mac!!! Perfect for the backup role!!— komplex2005
- come on, stop IT! — chilenos
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