Nice feel good story from Dana Pennett O'Neil today about Brian Dawkins ready to move on from his offseason family issues. Although he's never really went into detail, we know that during the offseason Dawkins' wife had twins that were born a couple months prematurely. He understandably missed minicamp to take care of them, the good news is that his daughter's are "thriving" and he's ready to roll.
He acknowledged: "I'm not much of a training-camp cat. I think you need two games with the pads on to remember what it's like to hit. Those other two, I don't need them.'' Nonetheless, Dawkins eagerly will report to Lehigh next week.
Juiced about the Eagles' newest acquisitions and the return of the injured pieces from a year ago, Dawkins also is eager to reconnect with his teammates. As much as begging out of minicamp was a no-brainer, Dawkins felt out of sorts being away.
"Football players are creatures of habit; that had been part of my routine for 12 years, so not being there was tough," Dawkins said. "I just missed being around the guys. It wasn't the practice or the drills. It was just not being together, seeing their faces, seeing how they practice, the bonding.''
He also goes on to give his thoughts about the Eagles' offseason and his expectations for this coming year. I'll say this, you can never feel bad about the Eagles after hearing #20 speak.