The Philadelphia Eagles outside linebacker meeting room is a little more decorated than it used to be thanks to Connor Barwin.
Barwin, once described as the NFL's modern man, seemingly purchased a number of old-fashioned portraits created by an outlet known as Noblified. All Eagles OLBs are included: Trent Cole, Marcus Smith II, Brandon Graham, Bryan Braman, Travis Long, Josh Kaddu, and Barwin himself.
Without further ado, here are the pictures that Barwin tweeted.
I added a little artwork to the OLB room. Thanks @nobilified #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/l85iiSLP6h
— Connor Barwin (@ConnorBarwin98) July 28, 2014
BG and Da Hunter... pic.twitter.com/AEXBKeFMFB
— Connor Barwin (@ConnorBarwin98) July 28, 2014
Braman's might be the best. @50_Braman pic.twitter.com/DMv368tLzo
— Connor Barwin (@ConnorBarwin98) July 28, 2014
Josh Kaddu and @MoneyMarcc91 are the funniest.. pic.twitter.com/IIAcFffVOj
— Connor Barwin (@ConnorBarwin98) July 28, 2014
And here's Barwin as Cosmo Kramer.
And yours truly... pic.twitter.com/oW3xICttOt
— Connor Barwin (@ConnorBarwin98) July 28, 2014
Awesome. Barwin talked about the importance of cohesion when it comes to position groups in The MMQB column he penned earlier this year:
The most successful position groups tend to be the ones with the best organization. When I was on the Texans the O-line and D-line were led by savvy veterans like Chris Myers and Shaun Cody. From day one of training camp the rules were set in place. Rookies carried veterans’ pads. Rookies stocked the position room with snacks and candy. Rookies embarrassed themselves in training camp skits. Systems of fines were put in place. (For example: $100 for farting during film study cost me a lot of money that year.) Outsiders might view these to be demeaning—imagine a Google employee getting fined for passing gas—but it laid a strict groundwork for how things were to be run. Late for a meeting? That’s a fine. Texting during dinner? A fine. Falling asleep during a film session? Big fine. Everyone is held accountable. Everyone shares the same goal: to win football games.
It’s no coincidence that those strictly run linemen groups were two of the most close-knit and successful position groups on the team. It sounds like a small thing, but when you can’t remember to turn your phone off in a meeting, maybe you won’t remember whether you’re supposed to drop into coverage on either the second or third receiver on the most important play of the game. When I got to the Eagles last year, I spoke to my former Texans teammate DeMeco Ryans and others about what went wrong with Philly’s disastrous 4-12 campaign in 2012. The team lacked cohesion, guys didn’t care about their teammates, guys were undisciplined. In other words the locker room went wrong. We began to put systems in place. Linebacker dinner every Thursday night became mandatory. Cell phones were put away. We broke bread together, got to know each other outside of football. Trust was earned. We started to form that bond.
While little actions like these may seem silly, they do speak to this team's level of camaraderie.