Last year during the off season the Eagles allowed long-time All-Pro safety Brian Dawkins to leave by signing with the Denver Broncos.¬† Dawkins had a disappointing season in 2008, so the Eagles as well as player personnel people around the league didn’t think he was worth a top dollar contract going forward.
You know the story, Denver saw the value in Dawkins as both a player but maybe even more importantly as a leader, so they came out of no where and threw millions of dollars on the table. ¬† Dawkins signed with the Broncos then went out and showed everybody that he’s not through by having an All-Pro year.
The Eagles heard an unprecedented level of anger from their fans about the loss of one of the most-beloved players in the franchise’s history.¬† It’s more than a year later and the anger is still hasn’t subsided.¬† You see and hear the same anger when loss of Dawkins is brought up before Birds fans.
About six months or so after the Eagles loss Dawkins, the Phillies traded away lefthander Cliff Lee after he had almost single-handedly carried them to a World Series title.  Lee was traded to Seattle in exchange for a few minor league prospects who have each been disappointing.
Lee had pitched about as well as a pitcher could during the National League playoffs and the World Series.  The Phils won two games in their series against the Yankees and both of those games were pitched by Lee.
After the season ended, Lee let the Phils know that he was still eager to test free agency and wasn’t interested in signing a long-term deal with them.¬†¬†¬† GM Ruben Amaro Jr. and the Phils front office weren’t going to sit still and be caught without a number one starter, so they worked out a trade with the Toronto Blue Jays to acquire Roy Halladay, who like Lee, happens to be one of the best pitchers in baseball, but he was willing to sign a multi-year deal.
At the same time they were acquiring Halladay, they traded Lee.¬†¬† The Phils told us that the $9 million dollars it would take to pay Lee put them over the top of their salary budget.¬† In addition, they said they didn’t want to totally empty their minor league rosters of quality talent, so they picked up some prospects for Lee.
Lee has had a great year with the Mariners and is currently on the market.¬† He will be the big catch of this year’s shopping by MLB contenders and the Phils continue to hear anger from their fans about trading him.
Clearly Eagles fans and Phillies fans remain upset by the loss of these two players.  On one hand you have Dawkins who played all of his possible Hall of Fame career here in Philadelphia before the trade, whereas Lee pitched only half a season for the Phils but was nothing short of magnificent during that period.
I said all of that to ask you one tough question.  Are you more upset by the loss of Dawkins or Lee?
I think most of us were surprised and very disappointed at the loss of Long-time Eagle player B Dawkins who was the Heart & Soul of the Eagles Defense and Franchise for 10 years and a real fixture in the Philadelphia community…I think most of us believed that he and te Eagles would work out an agreement and were then shocked to hear about the Bronco’s offer which was about double what Eagles offered…($9 Million vesus $5 million)
C Lee is another story, while he pitched fantastic down the stretch and the playoffs and was only on the Phils for 4 months, there is really no comparison on the emotional attachment for most fans
versus a player of Dawkins stature and longevity of his time in Philadelphia…
Another factor for some is that the story from the Phils F/O was that in order to get P Doc Halladay,
they have to give up C Lee, many of which were ok with this plan … In Dawk’s case, there really wasn’t a plan to replace him or a quality player behind him to pick-up the slack.. which left even more fans upset at the Eagles F/O
I am not sure this is even an apples to apples type of question to ask and I am sure this will rile up even more “Racists” remarks on here which I don’t believe you intended this post to be…
Hands down, any true Philadelphia Sports Fan was hurt more by the loss of B Dawkins
It’s not even close… about 99%-1% in my book…
no question, hands down, Dawk.
He was my favorite player for the past decade, and seeing the way I believe the front office disrespected and under-valued his contribution and leadership on this team is something that I will not forget. I am an eagles fan, but I have to seperate the team and players from the coaches and front office.
The Lee trade with just go down as one of the biggest blunders in Phillies history. Even if one of those prospects turns into an all-star (which by the reports from the minors each is struggling), it was a chance for us to field a strongest lineup and rotation in the teams history. While I liked Lee and appreciated all the he did last year, the fact remains that he we only here for half a season and as a fan I did not have the longterm attachment to the player as I did to Dawk.
Hands down, Dawk is by far a more upsetting loss.
Dawkins, not even close. The Cliff Lee deal just reaffirmed what I have thought, the Phils ownership is cheap. Always have been, always will be. They had a chance to make a strong play for it all, and just wussed out on the money, even though they push the turnstyles at CBP over 4,000,000 times a season. I did not think the Eagles were being cheap when they let Dawkins escape, they believed he was slipping fast. A big error for certain, but not totally about money, as was the Lee deal. Plus I have heard rumors to the effect that Dawkins agent did not play totally aboveboard with the Birds front office, they were willing to offer more when Denver got into the bidding, and were not given the opportunity to do so.
This is a TERRIBLE comparison. To even mention Cliff Lee in the same breath as Dawkins (in terms of who was harder to see go) is ridiculous. Hell, Terrell Owens was in Philly for far more time than Cliff Lee. Not to mention, the Phils at least got Halladay to replace Lee. The Eagles didn’t have even a comparable option to replace Dawkins.
yep as much as i enjoyed cliff
a decade of dawk and let him walk was just 2 tough 2 swallow
I was not disappointed that the Eagles didn’t re-sign Dawkins. In fact, I was relieved that they finally let him go. I felt the team should have released him after his neck injury. I thought he was too old and a liability in pass coverage.
Boy, did I have egg on my face when he resurrected his all-pro career with Denver.
Of course, his loss was compounded by the fact that the Eagles neither had a replacement, nor had ANYONE on defense who posed a threat as a ferocious hitter. In fact, our defense was so soft that Reid brought Trotter out of retirement.
Obviously, hindsight is 20/20 and because of his many valuable immeasurables, Dawkins clearly meant more to the Eagles than I ever imagined.
Cliff Who?
Completely agree Drum.
I am so pissed at this incompetent boob Amaro that I might change my login to AmaroSucks, but losing Dawk hurt a lot more. He was my favorite Eagle of all-time. Losing Lee for crap hurts too, especially since we could have tried for another ring. Now, they are thinking of bringing Lee back via trade? Isn’t that an admission that they made a mistake? They got crap for Lee and now Seattle is demanding top prospects for him and may get those. Seattle must have laughed up a storm when they traded for Lee and gave up NOTHING. Some of the players we traded for Lee are in the majors now for Cleveland. Amaro = IDIOT.
Dawkins…
The thing is I tried to put a positive spin on the Dawkins loss until it became painfully obvious in the off season that the Eagles had no legitimate plan to replace the All-Pro/ Hall of Fame safety with a high caliber player. The Cliff Lee trade was just hard, because everyone knew that the Phillies could have had Lee and Hallladay on the pitching staff and Lee was the only pitcher that scared the Yankees in the World Series.
slow news day, huh Garry?
…Dawkins, no question
hahahahahahaha yes change your name reid to amarosucks histerical
reidsucks you said it right…amaro was so intent of trading lee the same day as getting halliday that he got absolutely nothing in return….he was afraid that if both pitchers were on the roster at the same time that the fans would get used to having two studs in the rotation…i actually have a little respect for him if he would get him back in a trade now, because it is a clear admission that he made a mistake. something that the eagles fo would NEVER do, so for what it is worth, at least he appears to be able to admit when he makes a mistake, but it was a HUGE mistake that will not be forgotten as long as he is in the league
green did you hear something about us trying to get him back?
we need him badly
and hopefully it isnt like halladay for lee lol
yeah, there are reports that the phils are one of a few teams trying to trade for lee….word last night is that the yankees are now in the lead, but mets are also in the mix……lee for halliday, good one
*************Trade Alert******************
Phils Trade RF J Werth, P JA Happ , and a Pitching Prospect to Seattle for P C Lee.
Philles call up OF D Brown and have him play RF and platoon him with OF B Francisco versus tough left handers… Phils also sign P Pedro Martinez who will be ready by start of August for the stretch run
and replaces Kendrick.
C Lee replaces Blanton in rotation, Blanton goes to Bullpen and shares Closer role with Contreras
Once Durbin and Madson return from re-habs/DL list, Phils release D Baez & Herndon
Pitching staff to look like this come August
#1) Halladay
#2) Lee
#3) Hamels
#4) Moyer
#5) Pedro Martinez
Bullpen
Durbin,Kendrick as middle-long relief
Romero,Madson,Lidge as Set-Up men
Contreras and Blanton as Closers
***************************************************************************************************
Which city hurt the most? Cleveland losing LeBron James or Philly losing Brian Dawkins.
Cleveland losing LBJ without a doubt..
I am not sure if you can compare the agony of a City that’s never had a winner before..
The tough losses to Broncos in AFC Championship games, Art Modell moving the Browns to Baltimore Some decnt Basesball teams 4-5 years ago with CC Cliff Lee,Carmona and they let broke that team up and then a local home-state here to bring it’s NBA Franchise to National Attention and compete for a Championship….
Cleveland has had a lot more heartache than Philadelphia has ever had (Sport Wise that is)
No comparison
The blow of Lee was cushioned by the signing of Holladay…The timing was right for the Phillies and even though we disagreed with the decision, at least they had enough since to have a better replacement or at least on the same caliber. That leads us to the Eagles incompetence. They let a great player and person go for absolutely nothing. No player to replace Dawk, no free agent to cushion the blow…absolutely nothing. There’s no replacing the leadership, or skills which were invaluable. Denver understood there’s some things a FO can not put a price on and there’s exception to rules…Therefore we who bleed green embrace Brian Dawkins as the ultimate warrior and leader and no matter who they put in that uniform in philadelphia we will not embrace them because of the uniform..players come and go…but Dawk epitomized what we expect in an Eagle…He’s more of an eagle today than Demps, or any other scab. A matter of Fact he’s forever Green..players like kolb, demps, harris etc…will be as the wind in time..they’ll be spoken in the same sentences with hoying, pete, and moore.. Dawk we salute you….Mcnabb we salute you …for you have proven your valor on the battlefield…This organization in Philadelphia did not deserve you for if you were with class organizations like Pittsburg, Indianapolis, New England you would have Rings as a badge of worth in the NFL.
You know how you never forgive your girlfriend for something they do but you still love them……… Well thats how i feel about the dawkins/eagles situation!! People were saying on these boards that he wasnt worth the money and all this crap. I am glad to see some fans admitting they were wrong. Dawk took less money for years to stay with the team. They should have paid and kept him. We had a 7th round pick starting in his position. lol …..clearly my answer is dawkins
I was so mad at the eagles but i still love them
hahaha songs lol