I miss Brian Dawkins.

The worst moves the Eagles Organizations have made ever:

1. Letting go of Buddy Ryan

2. Letting go of Brian Dawkins

It freaking kills me to see him tearing it up in Denver. Dude should NEVER have been allowed to leave the Eagles. We need him now more than ever. Just sickens me that we let him walk.

Whodie,

You’re right, I just, I don’t know, I feel like the FO should have given more of an effort to keep him around. I know the contract that Denver gave him was sick, and really something the Eagles (given there track record w/ aging players) were not going to try to match. And yes, both sides kept everything classy for the most part. I guess I’m just bitterly disappointed in the loss. Especially after seeing him perform at such a high level this season.

My thing is this: The FO should have matched the offer regardless of the money and length of the contract. Dawk would have gladly accepted it, played for as many years as he could on the new deal and retire. I have no idea how retiring players contracts effect our cap room (this could have been factored into the FO’s line of thinking at the time all this initially transpired), but it would have been worth it for both parties. Dawk would have been able to retire as a single team player, and the franchise would not only have had an incredible addition to our (now mediocre) group of safeties but someone who could provide some much needed leadership and passion in the locker room.

These are all old and established points, I’m well aware of that. But the simple fact remains: When Eagles fans see Weapon X on the field, we all still scratch our heads and wonder about what “could have been”. It makes me sad, angry, frustrated, and pretty sick at my stomach to think that he could / should still be an Eagle. None of us can deny that the team would benefit from having him with us.

Kicking Dead Horses,
OkieEagle

P.S. I will officially be retiring my Dawkins jersey after the E v. B game. It needs to be framed, and I can’t cry all over it if it’s behind glass. JK bout the crying thing, the jersey will be retired and framed though ; )

Agreed! : )

I tell ya what though, I found this regarding Junior Seau and the Patriots, it’s a bit of a different take on the aging veteran and their possible contributions to a team:

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/columns/story?columnist=reiss_mike&id=4698880

It’s a Mike Reiss article and it’s chock full of stuff that makes me think….“what if?” Here’s a little sample from the article:

This has been the pregame routine since Seau rejoined the Patriots on Oct. 14.

“We all gather up, and there is a silence in the room, and everybody is just looking at him,” said rookie defensive lineman Myron Pryor. “You’re listening to him speak, and he’s getting everyone going. There is a little chill down your back, a little sweat on your forehead.”

After playing for 40 snaps in his first two games this season, Junior Seau hasn’t seen any game action the last three games. But he’s still contributing.

“Before every game, you have to get your popcorn ready because you can’t wait to hear those speeches, let alone see his face and the emotion that comes out,” added first-year cornerback Kyle Arrington. “It’s really indescribable how you can hear it in his voice — the emotion, the passion, the hunger.”

Seau’s return as an inspirational leader — part linebacker, part pregame motivator — is one of the behind-the-scenes stories just starting to come to the surface. Last week, rookie receiver Julian Edelman credited Seau as one of the main influences in helping the team overcome its heartbreaking loss to the Colts.

You really need to read the entire article to get a better feel for what Seau is doing for that team. And I can’t help but think that this is exactly what Dawkins is doing in Denver; plus contributing on the field as well! As young as we are at almost every position, those kids would have been eating out of Dawkins hands, and killing themselves for the guy not only on Game Day , but at practice as well. The FO can try to remove emotion from their decision making, but they can’t forget that emotion is what drives this game. It drives the players, the fans, and the coaches; and you can’t put a dollar sign on that.

Agreed again! That’s a huge contract for an aging safety. Yer right, I’d pay 1.1 to keep Dawk around, not so much 10 mil! Dang, that’s a huge contract. I knew it was a big number that Denver kicked down, didn’t know it was that big! jeez!