First of all please pause before you read this article because many might label my thinking heresy and these words blasphemy.
Some might say you wouldn’t read this in a legitimate publication. The NFL thought police might try to arrest me for my reasoning.
Last night on 610-WIP, I sat and listened to the praise heaped on current Broncos and former Eagles safety Brian Dawkins and couldn’t do anything but smile.
I have always liked admired Dawkins more as a man than as a football player.
I have always thought it was harder to live a quality life than to be a great Hall Of Fame player. I believe he’s been doing both.
I listened to all of the talk about Dawkins’ ability to come through in big games and his leadership skills. I agreed with all of the adulation.
Eagles fans were having a great time putting him amongst and atop the list of the top three most popular athletes in the city in the past decade.
I agreed with all of their comments, but I knew I could have crashed the party if I had wanted to do so.
Yes I could have rained on the parade by using the same arguments against Dawk as many of the same fans use against Donovan McNabb.
If Dawk is such a great big game player then why didn’t he pick off any passes in those five NFC Championship games and the Super Bowl.
Why didn’t he force any game changing fumbles in all of those games?
Just sit for a moment and think about it. Don’t say anything, just absorb those facts. No game changing turnovers in six championship games.
If he was such a great leader then why didn’t he lead the Eagles defense to force any game changing turnovers in all of those games.
Was he on the field when the Cardinals marched the length of the field last year in the NFC Championship game?
I think Dawkins will rightfully go into the Hall of Fame one day with the likes of Ray Lewis, Troy Polamalu, and Bob Sanders.
But they’re all former NFL Defensive MVP’s who made game changing plays in a conference championship game and a Super Bowl game to lead a team to a Super Bowl title.
I know many of you may be pained by these facts but the truth is the truth. Look it up.
Should Dawkins’ greatness be denied by the fact that he never made those game-changing plays to win those championship games?
I think Dawkins is a Hall of Famer by his body of work. He had to make a lot of plays to lead the Eagles to all of those playoff wins in all of those years and to get to all of those NFC Championship games.
You have to win big regular season games and big playoff games to get to all those championship games.
The facts support my contention that individuals don’t win Super Bowls, teams do.
The writers try to make it all about one player but that’s not really the truth but it reads very well.
The arguments that are used against McNabb being a winner and Hall of Famer can be used just as effectively against Dawkins.
Remember that the next time you use those arguments against McNabb.
