Way back on July 31st, 2010, I attended my first day of Eagles training camp. From a die-hard Eagles fan perspective, that day was one of the most awesome experiences ever for me. I was walking among the players, standing literally 2 yards from the sideline as the Eagles went live, going full-blown 11-on-11 full contact. I also had the rare opportunity of interviewing any Eagles player I wanted as they walked off the field on their way from the field back to the locker room. I took that opportunity to single out Quintin Mikell, my favorite player, and asked him three of the most unprepared garbage questions I could muster, before saying "Thanks Q," as he walked away almost assuredly thinking "Who the hell was that jackass?" Making matters worse, I screwed up pressing the record button on my phone, so I didn't even get any of my terrible interview on tape. It was reminiscent of the scene in Dumb and Dumber where Jim Carrey (Lloyd Christmas) makes small talk with a couple guys outside of 7-11:
Anyway, anytime I watch the tape, I almost never see #27 make mistakes. Mikell is always where he should be, consistently makes the correct play rather then trying for the ill-advised play that's not there, and based upon my extremely limited time logged in the Eagles locker room it's clear to see that he's one of the team leaders. I bring up Mikell because Pro Football Focus called him the best safety in the NFL (h/t to stash600 in the fanshot section). I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge that it's ridiculous to call Quintin Mikell the best safety in the NFL with guys like Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed doing what they're doing, while also calling DeSean Jackson something like the 90th best receiver in the NFL, but it is nice to see a very unheralded player get some well-deserved recognition.
With the contract situations of DeSean Jackson and Michael Vick taking precedence, it's a little-known fact that Mikell will be a free agent this offseason. Mikell is 30 years old, but with only 4 years as a starter in the NFL, he should have plenty left in the tank. The Eagles would be wise to lock him up for a few years the same way they did with Brian Dawkins in 2006, just before his 33rd birthday. Get it done, F/O.