Dawk to the Hall!
Posted: February 3rd, 2018 | Author: Tommy Lawlor | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 246 Comments »Brian Dawkins is now a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
There was a fear that John Lynch might get the nod this year and Dawk would have to wait. Thankfully, that didn’t happen.
Hall of Fame, Class of 2018: Randy Moss, Brian Urlacher, Ray Lewis, Brian Dawkins, Terrell Owens, Jerry Kramer, Robert Brazile and Bobby Beathard.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 3, 2018
Congrats to TO on also getting in. He was amazingly good in 2004 and a lot of fun to watch. Things did not end well with him and it will always bug me that he pulled apart that team, but you can’t deny what a great player he was. His performance in the Super Bowl was special.
Back to Dawk.
He is the best Safety I ever saw play. He was the most complete Safety I ever saw play. Just look at these numbers:
37 INTs
36 FF
19 FR
26 sacks
Ed Reed has more picks (64). Lynch played on a more dominant defense and won a Super Bowl. Troy Polamalu had a knack for making key plays and won a couple of Super Bowls. Ronnie Lott and Kenny Easley were amazing players that came out of the early 1980s.
Dawk could literally do everything and do it well. He could play in the slot as the Nickel back. He could drop 20 yards deep and be the centerfielder. Dawk played LB in the Nickel at times. He could be the 8th man in the box and help to shut down the run game. Dawk didn’t just do these things, he did them well.
The most underrated aspect of Dawk’s game is simply…preventing points. I can’t tell you how many times I saw him chase down a runner or receiver that had broken free. Even if he got the player down at the 10 or even 5-yard line, Dawk was going to make the opponent earn that TD. There were plenty of times when the Eagles would then play good Red Zone defense and only give up a FG. From 2000-2008, the Eagles allowed 17.7 points per game, the 4th lowest total in that span. Dawk was the primary reason why.
You can’t talk about the greatness of Brian Dawkins without bringing up Jim Johnson, his legendary defensive coach for a decade. Johnson came to Philly and studied tape of Dawk when he took over as defensive coordinator prior to the 1999 season. Johnson saw a player with huge potential. He used Dawk as creatively as he could. Why put limitations on a player? Johnson turned his young DB loose and football history wasn’t the same.
To understand what J0hnson meant to Dawk, just watch this from his retirement.
This is a great day for the Eagles and for Brian Dawkins. No one is happier than Jim Johnson, who is smiling down from heaven. His star pupil just got the honor of a lifetime.
*****
Coach of the Year results. Somehow Bill Belichick earned a vote. pic.twitter.com/t3QTJdvR8W
— Marc Sessler (@MarcSesslerNFL) February 4, 2018
I think I’m going to be nauseous.
The voting took place weeks ago and is based solely on the regular season. You can make a compelling case that McVay deserved the award. I know Pederson beat him, but the point of this is that McVay turned his team around in a single season. Pederson was in Year 2.
Still…how Pederson got just a single vote is beyond me.
If they did the voting today, Pederson would win and I’m not sure it would be close. He’ll just have to settle for coaching in the Super Bowl ( and hopefully hoisting the Lombardi Trophy on Sunday night).
*****
_
不错不错！内容感觉好极了！
BRIAN DAWKINS!!!!!!!!!!
A few side notes:
– Urlacher wasn’t as good as his reputation and one of the O-lineman should have made it over him.
– TO is going to get a HUGE round of cheers from the Eagles fans. As angry as I was at how TO acted in 2005, the subsequent BS behavior out of McNabb has given TO a posthumous increase in his respect in Philly. The “TO” song will ring out across Canton next August.
– I’m 100% trying to get to Canton for the induction of Dawk and TO next August.
We need to start thinning out the OL log jam for JP
Two thoughts on that.
1) 3 of the current 5 should get in over the next 3 years. I’d go Faneca first, Mawae second, and then Hutch 3rd. That clears out a good number for Peters. Boselli’s career is WAY too short for enshrinement and Joe Jacoby was only a 4 pro bowl / 2 All pro guy. They can both go to the hall of very good.
2) Peters is better than any of those guys, so they can all F themselves and get in line behind Peters once he’s up.
Agreed on both counts
As angry as I was at how TO acted in 2005, the subsequent BS behavior out of McNabb has given TO a posthumous increase in his respect in Philly.
100% wrongly. T.O. was a great player, but also the most selfish, me-first a-hole I’ve ever seen in professional sports. When he was being interviewed after the 2004 SB, all he wanted to talk about was how great he played, ignoring the fact that his team had just lost the game. Fuck that guy.
McNabb, his flaws as a player and a person aside, actually cared about winning.
I’m not a huge fan of how TO’s reputation among Eagles fans has been so rehabilitated. I still think of him more as villain than hero, the guy who broke apart a great team and then went running to Jerry Jones. For awhile it made me mad that he and Donovan “hugged it out” long after it did any good, but it’s pretty clear there’s still a lot of bad blood.
He absolutely deserves to be in, though, and I recognize that on the scale from Bitter Eagles Fan to Really Bitter Eagles Fan, I’m way far over toward Really Bitter Eagles Fan, and hopefully that scale gets broken tonight.
That’s pretty much how I see it. I agree TO deserve some to be in based on his on-field performance but I’m not going to cheer for him and I will never consider him a true Eagle or a guy who should be remembered beside true franchise greats (e.g., I’m glad they retired jersey #s 5 and 20 for McNabb and Dawkins but I’d be sick to my stomach if they ever said they were going to retire #81).
You KNOW i think andy is every bit me-first .. he just plays it in an aw-shucks-im-just a-regular-guy way and covets if up better
..
And after watching LT comment how Parcells ffffuckkked them (and Beli made him. ..) i really got a new sense for how great JJ was
Wut? Andy is a coach. Winning is the only statistic that matters to a coach. Pretty hard to be me-first when team success is the only metric by which you’re evaluated.
Made sure he got his money wouldn’t pay trotter wouldn’t renegotiate TO .. but that’s years ago and many andy reid heartbreaks ago. .. today is for BB Doug and the under dogs !! Can’t believe it’s today .. FLY EAGLES FLY, GO BIRDS
You do know that there is a salary cap for players but not for coaches, right?
My like for McNabb ends at the end of his playing career here. I cannot take anything away from him as an amazing Eagle and the best QB in the history of our franchise. His entire slate of comments and behaviors post trade to Washington has been nothing short of embarrassing and caused me to hate the dude. But he’s 2 McNabbs in my mind. I still love the 1999-2009 McNabb.
I agree he hasn’t covered himself in glory since he left the Eagles. The sexual harassment allegations suggest he’s actually a pretty big jerk off the field. But he did play hard for this franchise and put team success first while he was here.
And the DUIs
And the general moping
And the flaming of QBs since his time here
And the sexual harassment.
Xeynon already stated that, so “AND” was “in addition to.”
And there was sexual harassment, too. (I’ll stop now.)
No amount of nostalgia can undo the feelings that remain (at least for me and several other Eagles friends of mine) for TO. He was the main catalyst in the demise of our great run which *should* have led to a SB win. Yes, TO gave a performance for the ages in the SB and for that he has my respect. However, I can’t bring myself to ever look back on his time here with fond memories. He was a supreme d**k.
Let me just say that I don’t actively hate or dislike the guy. I wish him well in life and believe he should have been a sure fire 1st ballot HOFer. But, I can’t bring myself to cheer for him as an Eagle.
Also, agreed on Urlacher. It never made sense to me how Urlacher was put on this high pedestal when Briggs was every bit the player he was.
Famous popular linebackers: Urlacherzzzzz, Sean Lee, Luke Keuchly… hmm, seeing anything in common here?
last names that include L’s?
Since we’re on that theme, Ray Lewis is more famous and infamous than all of them.
TO was a malignant narcissist and deserves every bit of the hate he’s received through the years, but as I’ve grown older I’m pulled more and more into his side in that contract dispute.
In 2004 we signed TO to a 7 year 42M contract. Going just off average per year it places him comfortably in the top tier of WR earners. But the deal had no guarantees or protections for career ending injury after that first year. It was essentially a series of one year deals. Definitely not the kind of contract a foundational piece to a franchise is given.
Towards the end of the year TO breaks his ankle. For all intents and purposes he should have been shut down for the year and simply collected his pay checks. Instead the dude attacked his rehab like a madman, he had screws and plates surgically inserted in his ankle to speed healing, he slept in a hyperbaric chamber and started running weeks before his doctors recommended. Leading up to the Super Bowl the doctors wouldn’t clear him to play and recommended that he sit out. He had to sign a waiver to play in that game releasing the Eagles organization from any financial obligations should he suffer career ending or altering damage to his unhealed ankle.
Here’s a guy sacrificing his body for the team, risking career ending injury against doctor’s advice all while having no more guaranteed money left on his contract. You don’t see that these days. And, when it was all over TO cane back to the front office and said, you know what I risked everything for this team by heroically risking my career without any financial protection, I think I earned a reworking of my deal that shifts some money into guaranteed bonuses so I have some security against injury. And, Joe Banner told him to go F off and his QB and friend who had infinite pull inside the organization told him to go kick stones in the parking lot too.
He handles it like an immature middle school girl but damn, looking back on it, I would have been pissed to.
I still would have told him to pound sand on that contract as he was only one year into it, but I might have redistributed some of it as a forwarded signing bonus to advance him a tad more cash. But I wasn’t going to change the yearly hits too much.
That’s literally what he asked for. He didn’t want his cap hits to change. He wanted them to commit to him with some guaranteed cash since he just risked his career for them.
I don’t think it was unreasonable of him to want more guaranteed money. The way he handled it was atrocious, however. He basically immediately took it public, started sowing dissension in the locker room, and publicly trashed teammates who had nothing to do with it. He was also a locker room cancer everywhere else he played as well.
Seriously, fuck that guy. I don’t object to him being in the HoF because he was a great talent, but I have no warm feelings toward him whatsoever.
Agree completely with this. And, that’s why he deserves every bit of hate he receives.
TO is a tremendous player and most certainly belongs in the Hall of Fame.
However he is a complete piece of shit and set the franchise back for years. I believe the team would have been better off if he had never been an Eagle.
His contract dispute was one of the most bizarre things I have ever seen from a pro athlete. He completely tore apart the locker room and threw his QB under the bus.
I will never understand why Philly fans take TO’s side over McNabb’s in this whole saga. People forget that his dispute wasn’t with McNabb it was with the front office for not paying him his fair share. He dragged McNabb into this and threw him under the bus. McNabb kept his mouth shut about the situation that whole time.
Honestly a certain group of Philly fans are complete idiots.
I really hope the Eagles print this ridicules coach of the year vote and put it everywhere in their locker room tomorrow. Then Dougie P will shove this down B.B. his throat after the birds will beat the cheating Patriots 30-20.
Gotta’ believe the guys on the team know this and are thinking about winning one for the Douger.
There’s only one award left then for Doug Pederson to win…
Super Bowl Champion!
Go EAGLES!
(And CONGRATULATIONS to BRIAN DAWKINS!!!!!!!!!!)
1 vote for Pederson is disgusting! I dunno but i get a feeling the Eagles get no respect. Like there is some low key hating on them. Media and peeps who are not fans of the Eagles just keep low balling them. Win that SB men! Fk them and their disrespect. You all you got you all you need E-A-G-L-E-S!!!
We all we need.
Found out that one vote was a mix up originally intended for Andy Reid!! 😉
I can’t get mad about the Coach of the Year. I mean, the Rams have sucked for years, and for a while they were the best team in the league. The Eagles were actually a decent team last year (7 wins, #5 in DVOA) and have the benefit of a good owner. Sure, as fans we see all the ways Dug has exceeded expectations, but from a national perspective, it’s not so clear…
…given it’s a regular season award.
All good with McVay winning it. Just the fact Pederson only got 1 vote is a slap in the nuts. For what Pederson had to deal with injuries to key positions in the team and overcome them just for 1 vote?? Not cool. Ah well.
I’d like to think if McVay was a bad coach, Pederson would have gotten all his votes.
And Belichick has to find new ways to cheat every year. #norespect
I give McVay credit for acknowledging bb and Peds for going 15-3 in his speech.
It’s the fact that he only got one vote that bothers me. He overcame far more in terms of adversity and fielded a better team that beat and outlasted McVay’s team. That’s true even if we restrict the analysis to the regular season. I can see the argument for McVay winning, but not for Pederson only receiving one vote.
That is kind of odd. I guess the vote was from the Philadelphia-based delegate. 🙂
Perhaps the timing of the vote was the issue. If it happened after game 16, Dug’s case had been dealt a major blow. The previous two games, the Eagles had lost and played awfully without their superstar hot shot QB. There was a good case to be made that the Eagles’ ascension was due to Wentz.
The playoffs showed that not to be the case, and served as that very rare a/b case that showed coach to be nearly as important as player. I’d bet many or even all of those voters would take it back now.
What an amazing two-for-one opportunity Eagles fans are getting at Canton this year–chance to cheer for Dawkins, AND boo T.O. I know I’ll be making the trip!
I would think most eagles fans would cheer TO. I know I won’t boo him
I’m not going to boo TO, but I won’t cheer him. Along with Jason Babin he remains one of my least favorite Eagles ever.
Babin and dhani jones.
Dhani Jones wasn’t a good player but wasn’t a jerk (in fact, he’s a very intelligent, thoughtful guy who’s had an interesting post-football career). He’s more forgettable than hatable to me.
Well said. Agree for sure
Riley Cooper. Not even close
Riley Cooper’s not a favorite of mine either but if it hadn’t been for that racist epithet incident – for which he did apologize – he would’ve been just a footnote in Eagles history. He did make a few good memorable plays in that 2013 season. Not even in my top 10, honestly.
No, Cooper still a piece of shit for getting out jumped for a game winning pass that should have been a TD vs. a midget DB in the Green Bay playoff game……and that drop. I already hated him when the concert thing happened, which should have banished him from the team.
And he needs a haircut.
That GB interception was 100% Vick’s fault. He both threw into coverage and underthrew the ball. Cooper was moving toward the back of the end zone and would’ve had to reverse his momentum to come back to break up the interception.
Not that I really cared anyway – I didn’t like that 2010 team and didn’t think they had a shot to go anything in the playoffs anyway.
No way. The Eagles played Green Bay closer than any other team did that post season; therefore Eagles win Super Bowl that year. #math
Go watch the replay. Just an awful decision and awful throw by Vick. That team was not winning a SB.
https://youtu.be/abjUPUiHOqw
I miss the dark visors…
You’re probably right, but I’ve seen that completed vs. us far too often………..
Pretty much exactly what Guy said (although the haircut part isn’t such a big deal to me).
Babin would be 2nd though. Diva DE who only cared about his #’s. Remember him celebrating sacks in games where the Eagles were losing badly. I think he and Washburn put the final nails into the Andy Reid era.
Listen, if I didn’t hate him he’d be allowed to wear his hair however he wanted. But if I don’t like you any aspect of your entire being is up for ridicule and scorn.
Best part of having someone like Babin is that people still complain every fucking day on this board about our current DL being bad because they don’t post gaudy sack numbers. We deserve to have a POS like him for that attitude.
I think the way I view Donovan now impacts how I view TO. TO coming to philly was the biggest spectacle this city had ever seen. That was a special time in my fandom.
In retrospect, What that guy did was incredible coming back and performing that way in the super bowl. Donovan didn’t want to share the spot light and this FO wanted to make an example out of him and his contract. No way Howie and DP let that situation get out of control.
TO certainly isn’t blameless, but I think the blame deserves to be spread around a lot more than I did at the time. I think you deserve to get in on your play, and your ply alone. We have never seen WR play like that in this city. Him going to the HoF makes me reflect on that special season, while in the midst of an even more special one. Great time to be an eagles fan.
Nobody deserves it more than Dawk.
If McNabb didn’t want to ‘share the spotlight’ he would never have pushed to sign TO.
TO was the one destroyed that team. McNabb, for all his post career faults, remained dignified.
TO disrespected the man that vouched for him, disrespected his Head Coach, his teammates, the franchise, the fans, the OC and ended up at our staunch enemy all for the same amount of money and for fewer years. I’m so glad it worked out for him.
For McNabb to dislike TO to this day, if it is the case, I can completely understand. TO vindictively carried out a character assassination of McNabb as he wouldn’t get involved in pushing for a contract renegotiation on TO’s behalf one year into a 7 year deal and basically labelled him an uncle Tom. The same sh*t he put up with from the the right wing media – TO knew what he was doing and it was as low as you can get.
It’s complete BS how so many fans re-write history out of their dislike for McNabb.
If only he was more ‘fiery’!
Fiery must be a euphemism for something else as I’ve never heard Wentz being called out for not being ‘fiery’.
I don’t even hate McNabb. I was always in his corner while he was here.
Things changed when he left. He has proven in Washington and Minnesota that he is the entitled brat that many claimed he was. He refused to work on his game and buy in to those team’s cultures.
He then joined the media and bad mouthed every QB to come through Philly. Instead of loyally standing behind his team he consistently put his own legacy at the forefront.
He was a good, but never elite QB. He wanted TO here, but quickly had buyers remorse when he wasn’t “the guy” in this city.
TO deserves the bulk of the blame, but not all of it. I don’t hate him. He’s not a terrible person by any means.
You are projecting an awful lot onto McNabb there. I never recall him trashing TO publicly (or even intimations that he was doing it off the record). I do recall him ruefully saying it was a shame it didn’t work out, but he didn’t trash his teammates or coaches the way TO did. He really did deal with endless shit from TO and he never lashed out in response which is the way an adult handles such things. As for not pushing for a new contract for TO – why the hell would Owens have expected that? That’s totally out of the ordinary. Players hire agents to handle that stuff. TO trying to get a coworker involved in HIS salary renegotiation was massively unprofessional.
TO is probably mentally ill, so he may or may not be a “terrible person”, but he certainly behaved like one while he was here, and while he was at every other stop he made on his NFL career. The guy was always a first class jerk (remember him ripping Jeff Garcia and intimating he was gay?) and locker room cancer. You don’t play with five different NFL teams over the course of your career when you’re that talented unless you’re a supreme a-hole.
Again, fuck TO.
Every quarterback? Who have we had since he left? He rightfully pointed out that one swallow does not make a summer in regards to Foles’ 27-2 season.
He has said good things about Wentz.
He fell out with Shanahans, but let’s not pretend they were the good guys. Subsequent mishandling of their franchise quarterback is proof enough. He should have made adjustments to his game but was stubborn, after all he had got this far without it. Bottom line each situation is a lot more nuanced.
God knows what happened in Minnesota, they started off 1-5 before he was benched. 4 of those 5 losses were 1 score games. It was a crap season for Minny and resulted in Childress’ firing. I highly doubt McNabb was the primary reason.
To label him as not elite is complete BS. During his time as an Eagle he was just below Brady and Manning, all while having not having the luxury of playing in a dome, a scheme that limited his abilities and a supporting cast that was a bunch of 3rd/4th/5th receivers and an underutilized BWest (look at his best seasons as a runner, they were typically years where McNabb was injured).
Jason Babin was easy to hate. I am assuming you mean least favorite star players
Casey Matthews, Steve Smith, and Stacy Andrews are players I really hated.
I know some people love him, but I really can’t stand Jordan Matthews. He is a walking metaphor of mediocrity.
I can’t hate Casey Matthews for Reid putting him on the spot after years of bad drafting and bad luck at LB. He should have been looked at like Najee Goode is now, but instead people treat him like Maxwell or Nnamdi, cashing in and not showing up.
For me a guy being a mediocre player isn’t a reason to hate him. Guys can’t help not being that talented. The guys you mention are ones to whom my main reaction is “meh”. Certainly not favorites or players whose Eagles tenures I remember fondly, but not memorably offensive enough to be hatable.
I hate guys who are prima donnas, selfish, care more about individual than team success, are jerks off the field, etc. – e.g. TO, Babin, Freddie Mitchell, DeMarco Murray.
Love him. He played diva and got out-diva’d by Andy. .
I used to hate him, but maybe this season of reaching the SB and putting all that in the past has mellowed me out. I’m glad he got snubbed last year, and I wouldn’t have blinked an eye if he got snubbed again this year. However, he deserves to be in the HOF. He gets a short golf clap from me.
Jason Taylor getting in over Dawk still pisses me off.
18 hours away from either the best damn moment in sports history or heartbreak.
Jason Talyor was in no way a better player than Dawn, but at least Taylor has some actual career totals and multiple top notch seasons. Kurt Warner and Terrell Davis have low career totals and Jerome Bettis was never that good.
Warner, Davis, and Bettis were all deserving HoFers. The first two were far-and-away the best in the league at their positions for multiple seasons (Sandy Koufax/Game Sayers rule) and Bettis had more than 13,000 career rushing yards and is the 7th leading rusher all time.
I reject all 3. I don’t believe in the Sayers rule in this era of sports medicine. And Bettis simply was a compiler of below average stats over a long period of time. He simply doesn’t separate himself enough from other good, but not great, RBs for me. I also use yards from scrimmage and total TDs to judge RBs vs. each other if we’re talking the mid 70s through present NFL.
Apologies in advance, but some numbers on Bettis.
Ricky Watters – 10 seasons, 5 pro bowls, 14891 from scrimmage, 91 TDs, average year 1489 yards 9.1 TDs
Bettis – 13 season, 6 pro bowls, 2 all pro, 15111 from scrimmage, 94 TDs, average year 1162 yards, 7.2 TDs
Edge – 10 years, 4 pro bowls, 1 all pro, 15610 from scrimmage, 91 TDs, average year 1561 yards, 9.1 TDs
Tiki – 10 years, 3 pro bowls, 1 all pro, 15632 from scrimmage, 67 TDs, average year 1563 yards, 6.7 TDs
Dunn – 12 years, 3 pro bowls, 15306 from scrimmage, 64 TDs, average year 1275 yards, 5.3 TDs
____________________________________________________________________________________
Tomlinson – 11 years, 5 pro bowls, 3 all pro , 18,456 yards from scrimmage, 162 TDs, average year 1678 yards, 14.7 TDs
Martin – 11 years, 5 pro bowls, 1 all pro, 17430 from scrimmage, 100 TDs, average year 1584 yards, 9.1 TDs
Faulk – 12 years, 7 pro bowls, 3 all pro, 19154 from scrimmage, 136 TDs, average year 1586 yards, 11.3 TDs
—————————————————————————————————————————————
Tomlinson – 11 years, 5 pro bowls, 3 all pro , 18,456 yards from scrimmage, 162 TDs, average year 1678 yards, 14.7 TDs
Smith – 15 years, 8 pro bowls, 4 all pro, 21579 from scrimmage, 175 TDs, average year 1439 yards, 11.7 TDs
Sanders – 10 years, 10 pro bowls, 6 all pro, 18190 from scrimmage, 109 TDs, average year 1819 yards, 10.9 TDs
Payton – 13 years, 9 pro bowl, 5 all pro, 21264 from scrimmage, 125 TDs, average year 1635 yards, 9.6 TDs
Not sure I see your point with the stat comparisons – all those guys are at least borderline HoF candidates also. Dunn is the only one I’d say shouldn’t be in personally. Compiling good stats over a long career (and you can’t argue Bettis was “below average”, that’s ridiculous) is a viable path to the HoF.
As for the Sayers rule, Davis’ career was cut short by an injury that even modern medicine couldn’t fix and Warner had a short career because he was a late bloomer and was a 28 y/o rookie. Even so, he was still a very good QB who got his team to a SB a decade later. I don’t think you can talk about the best RBs/QBs of the 90s and early 00s without mentioning Davis and Warner which is why I think they both belong.
I’d love to have the selection committee explain their overlooking of Dougie big fucking balls Pederson in light of our making it to the super bowl with our backup quarterback.
What’s it going to take for this team to ever get some damn respect?
Beating the pats in the SB will be a start.
But, he’s the least qualified head coach in the NFL. His only head coaching experience was in high school. He was only a coordinator for a few years and Andy Reid called all the plays.
The above idiotic statements that have been said over and over again is why Pederson doesn’t get the respect he deserves. It all started with the Philly writers and continues still with morons like Mike Lombardi .
These a__holes are so programmed in what it takes to be a successful head coach that they wouldn’t recognize a good candidate, let alone someone who proved themself, if it bit them in the butt.
Jimmy Minni doesn’t sound too bad.
Or Jimmy Sota
One Mini Jimmy soda please. Actually that sounds awful, cancel that.
It’s super bowl day. Feels surreal. I’ve gone from anxiously waiting to a sort of dreamlike disbelief.
I don’t know whether I’m going or coming. I’m calmly nervous as hell.
Is it true that McNabb is going to introduce TO at Canton?
Good one!
Would be a great display of maturity and unity.
So…no.
Sad but true but I’m working on it.
Since TO’s grandmother isn’t alive, McNabb is just as improbable as anyone.
My sources tell me it’s going to be Jeff Garcia…
Chad Ochocinco
Wouldn’t it be Romo? That was his quarterback wasn’t it?
Probably, or maybe all 4 of the mother’s of his children.
Who is still up? I can’t sleep!!
I am now. Too excited to sleep. Had a dream the Eagles won 31-10.
Already up, actually.
If these things are voted for before the post season how come the Minnesota miracle is in there?
Not everything is voted weeks ago. Just the regular season individual and some team awards. That Minnesota play was just so unreal. And the Super Bowl is right there.
The least qualified coach in the NFL got a coach of the year vote? Impressive.
Snowing in Minn, rain on the way in Philly. Hell is freezing over. Good sign.
Brady as MVP? Fucking yawn.
It’s like when they keep giving awards to the office kiss-ass.
Are the Patriots in the Superbowl with out Brady? Play-offs?
kinda this…
Maybe. Definitely playoffs. I’m assuming this was voted on prior to the playoffs. As if Saints would have been somewhere without Brees, or Seahawks without Wilson. It’s blatantly padding his resume so his records are never broken.
It’s actually only his 3rd MVP award. That is probably too low, for his career. Once Wentz went down, I figured this would happen — Wentz has many years ahead, and Brady hasn’t won enough, and you never know if there will be a good excuse to give it to him again.
From SNL to lighten things up while we wait:
https://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/revolutionary-war/3662616
What did the rest of you think about Rob Riggle last night? His opening seemed really awkward and long. I couldn’t watch it all. It wasn’t so much the material that I didn’t like but the delivery was slow and they were really focused on getting individual reactions. He seemed a little out of his comfort zone (he usually keeps the jokes rolling), and at time it was painful to watch. Some of it was funny, but mostly I was thinking “why is the NFL doing this to itself?”
I wrote and posted this yesterday. Not an uncommon story amongst us. I hope you enjoy it. (TL/DR: Late father = Eagles fan. This is about more than football.)
Have a great day today my brothers (and sisters). Fly Eagles Fly !!!
https://www.facebook.com/jmhunt/posts/10215806889993532
You know, Dawk was really sort of slept on, compared to his greatness, during his career. At least here in MD (where everyone was in love with Shawn Taylor, Ed Reed, Laron Landry etc). Really good to see the HoF recognized his greatness.
If you’ve never seen it before, here’s an edited version of the TV broadcast of the last Eagles championship victory, a 17-13 defeat of the Packers. Note: it was over another legendary coach and HoF QB, and the Eagles were home underdogs just as they were throughout these playoffs.
Three other random thoughts:
(1) the passing game is generally visibly more primitive but there are plenty of throws made in the game that would fit right in in the modern game. The beautiful long over-the-shoulder throw Van Brocklin made to Retzlaff to set up the Eagles’ first FG was remarkably similar to Foles’ TD to Torrey Smith against the Vikings.
(2) those 1960s blocking schemes are fun to watch. Today’s Eagles aren’t the first team to utilize crazy mobility from their interior linemen to create mismatches. I’m glad Jerry Kramer finally made the HoF because he deserved it.
(3) people who think Ed Hochuli makes himself too much a center of attention should check out the referee’s “no good” signal on the Packers’ FG at the end of the first half. Refs being theatrical is not a new thing at all.
(4) If the SB tonight ends the way this game did, with the Eagles’ last defender tackling the Patriots’ best offensive player 7 yards short of what would be the game winning TD with time running out, the entire Delaware Valley will have a heart attack.
https://youtu.be/w8mR6noGrTw
On point 3, the theatricality was necessary in a pre-TV era.
This wasn’t a pre-TV era though. Certainly technology wasn’t to the point it is now, but the game was nationally televised.
Are you sure the game was televised in Philadelphia? I was only 8 years old and remember listening to the game on my transistor radio even though we had TV and my dad was an Eagles fan.
Is it possible that it was televised nationally, but blacked out at home? I remember how my cousin, who was at the game, told me he was one of many fans shoveling snow on the field before the game.
I did a little research and at least I know I’m not crazy because even though the game was televised, it was blacked out in Philadelphia. I’m not sure why because it was a sellout, but my guess is because of frigid weather leading up to game day, it wasn’t sold out by the mandatory deadline.
Interesting to note the game was moved from Sunday to Monday because they didn’t want to play on Christmas.
Most media scholars wouldn’t really consider the performance to be adjusted for television.
Just think of the old story about the JFK/Nixon debate. Just because it was televised doesn’t mean it’s made for TV. Like Nixon, he was on television but didn’t perform for it.
One big difference between the Lombardi/Starr combo and the Belichick/Brady combo was that Lombardi and Starr were just starting out and didn’t win anything yet.
True, but they both proved themselves to be all-time greats. That game was the only postseason Lombardi ever suffered and Starr has the highest winning percentage in the postseason of any HoF QB.
The NFL pimp-hand is fast today.
I understand the argument for McVay, but just 1 vote for Pederson is an absolute joke. Someone has some serious explaining to do. How is that possible when Pederson beat McVay in LA and had to rely on his backup to secure the victory in the 4th??? I mean LA had the most valuable offensive and defensive player in the NFL so it’s not like they didn’t have comparable talent.
The problem I have with this system is that it rewards team improvement over coaching ability. So McVay gets the nod because LA had a worse record last year. So does that mean Pederson will be automatically disqualified next year since it’s pretty damn tough to top a 13-3 record with a half dozen major contributors missing significant time due to injuries???
They might as well just do 2 separate awards: 1 to the Coach who simply did the most impressive job of putting his team in a position to succeed and then 1 to the coach who got the most out of his team (i.e. most improved team).
And don’t even get me started on these no-talent, never played a down, a** clowns who vote on the HOF. There is absolutely no reason in the world Brian Dawkins should have had to wait to get in the HOF.
Game day morning! Slept good last night too! The stage is set…
Been an amazing year – from the draft in Philly, to the team in the Super Bowl, to Howie as Exec of the Year and Brian Dawkins in the Hall of Fame…
The stage is set for a great day of all sports day in Philly! Go EAGLES!
So Pink is doin’ the anthem yo.
I guess Im the only person who could care less about the HOF, and all the individual awards, but thats just me, all I want is a SB win, tired of the empty trophy case jokes and all the other jokes against the sb winless eagles
You can still consider winning the Super Bowl the pinnacle and enjoy B Dawk’s play while he was an Eagle and reflect on that. But that’s your loss. You ain’t dragging people down to your level when it comes to Dawk getting in the HOF.
aint draggin no one down, Im a huge dawk fan, I just want a SB, but if individual trophys are for you thats cool too, you probably got one for just being on the team, libtard
LOL Debbie Downer, you really are a hater. I can tell you all his fans are very happy for him getting into the HOF while you could care less. You’re a real big fan lmao. Hater lol. And you’re calling me a tard. hahahaha.
I’m so glad I blocked this bobeph guy. I can’t even read the post you’re responding to but he’s such a miserable SOB who’s just negative and unpleasant all the time. Life is too short for those kinds of comments.
He’s the kind of guy that can’t really enjoy anything until they win the whole thing. I feel that way to an extent because the last championship was the year before I was born but I gotta enjoy the ride some too. Otherwise I wouldn’t even follow it if I was that miserable. What’s the point?
Like I said, you can still be happy Dawkins is in the HOF.
Life is about managing disappointment. Most of the time, we as human beings are not going to experience ecstatic joy. If someones doesn’t learn how to derive pleasure from the 99% of experiences that don’t give you that level of positive feeling, they’re not going to enjoy it much.
We could well lose the game tonight. I’ll still be grateful for the ride we got to go on this season even if we do. This team has been so much fun to root for, I won’t let a disappointing end to the season, if it happens, ruin that.
I did too, but I don’t even remember doing it.
What uniform(s) will TO have in his HoF display?
I was wondering that myself. My guess is the 49ers .
That’s what I was figuring but I’m not sure how those decisions are made. Farve has a Vikings jersey in his display that he said he didn’t know about until told to him by a reporter.
Team T.O. is my vote.
According to Glen Macnow, thats a trick question, there are no teams on the displays…
Here’s a photo of Farve’s display.
http://apps.startribune.com/blogs/user_images/jason.gonzalez_1470430143_favre.jpg
Oh ok, I guess that’s different from the busts.
In that case, all teams probably.
I’m trying to think of something funny to say about TO’s bust having it’s mouth open… coming up a little short.
All I can come up with is the Black Knight in The Holy Grail…Sorry.
That works!
Where is his Jets jersey?
Not represented since his most notable accomplishment as a Jet (sending dick pics to a female team staffer) was achieved while he wasn’t wearing a jersey.
LOL!
Hopefully Bengals and Bills.
This message approved by Jeff Garica and Donovan McNabb.
I don’t want him sullying the Eagles uniform.
He’s a narcissistic, self-obsessed jackass, so the Cowboys look would be perfect for him.
You forgot histrionic. “He’s my quarterback…”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMRlpeeOH6M
How many Patriots would start on this team? 6-7? Brady, Gronk, Cooks, Solder, Gostkowski, Gilmore, McCourty? I don’t think the gap is very large for a few of those either.
I get we’re going against Belichick/Brady, but we have the better team. I think that will be enough more times than not.
The press and the public are enamored of the Patriot’s mystique. Look at the rosters, though, the Eagles have the more talented and complete team. This is most glaring in the trenches. The Eagles D line will be the toughest the Pats have faced all season (including the Jags because of our depth), and the Pats D line will be one of the weakest the Eagles have faced.
Who has a bigger day today, Gronk or Ertz? I’ll answer: Ertz. He’s going against P Chung, Gronk will likely have to square off against Jenkins.
A big part of the gameplan will be taking Gronk out, very possibly, so Brady will probably be feeding the ball to his other weapons.
Gronk will get his yards but Brady will be forced to go to his other wrs. Won’t be enough to win.
Wait, are coaches other than Belichik allowed to game plan to take away the other team’s best weapon? I thought only Belichik tried to do that.
Good point, I should have added the (TM) sign after that. We have to give credit to the guy who invented that strategy, after all!
Seriously, this is one of the things that annoys me the most about about the Patriots. Belichick is a HoF coach but a lot of the plaudits he gets from the national media basically exhibit a “Belichick is a great coach because he’s great at coaching football and his teams receive great coaching” level of analysis.
Of course, bad, shallow analysis gets applied to everyone in the NFL, but the Patriots benefit from the hagiographic version of it more than most teams.
Cool, you’re the only other person besides me I’ve ever observed using that word.
Exactly
German Eagle, you should totally go to the Filmore.
Happy SuperBowl Sunday everyone!!
This is a particularly good one!
anyone have any good hype videos? just been listening to Meek Mill all mornig.
http://www.phillyvoice.com/what-theyre-saying-eagles-super-bowl-hype-video-edition/
Wow this one combines the two and is FANTASTIC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-4UCHr6XIE
READY TO RUN THROUGH A GOD DAMN WALL FOR THIS TEAM LETS GOOOOOOOOO
Anything Dawk and deSean’s runback… or the entire comeback
Whatever happens today, guys, fuck the Cowboys.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/30f1688bcca91df2b38588dcfd9d0b4e40602ade7336a3730b3c8441ffec65b5.png
Hey, sorry about those snowballs, Santa! Haha.
The things that are so annoying about the Santa thing:
(1) it happened 50 years ago. A majority of the people who were responsible, quite literally, are dead. Seriously, let it go.
(2) it wasn’t like the booing at least wasn’t deserved. From what I’ve read, it was a shoddy, half-assed presentation that wasn’t what the fans who’d bought tickets had been promised, and the guy who was supposed to be playing Santa was a drunken ass. I think fans of most teams would boo that.
My two most hated sports franchises.
Replace Lakers with Celtics for me and add Rangers and that’s my top 5, unless were counting the German World Cup team.
In no particular order:
Cowboys
Lakers
Yankees
Patriots
Celtics
There are other teams it gives me joy to see lose (Penguins, NY Giants, Warriors, etc.) but none on this level.
So dumb that they vote before the post season (the only season that matters to be honest). It’s like they enjoy taking a guess then being shown how wrong they are within a month.
Yeah, sort of. On the other hand, 16 games is a bigger sample size than 2. Playoffs are fun, but not really that illuminating.
The regular season gets you your candidates. The post season is 11 games of data of the highest level of competition. It obviously should be counted. Zimmer and McVay both got out coached badly when it counted.
11 games added to a 256 game season. It’s worth being added, but people really overrate playoffs in general. A football game is a very random thing, a season less so. The larger the sample size, the more accurate evaluation one can make. But even in the NBA, the best team doesn’t win.
On the contrary, I think the playoffs are highly illuminating. Sure, the sample size is small, but they’re a high pressure crucible where nearly every opponent is a good team and your flaws as a coach will be exposed mercilessly.
If you succeed in the playoffs, it’s very strong evidence you’re a good/great coach. This is especially true if you succeed with one hand tied behind your back the way Doug has. I’m not writing McVay off because his team flamed out in the playoffs, but I think we pretty much half to do the opposite for Doug at this point – the guy has proven himself a bona fide top echelon NFL coach.
So, win today and what’s the narrative? Eagles were great or pats played poorly? I guess it depends on the score.
Oh that’s easy. Most prominent narrative will be “End of a Dynasty?”
Those who want to pay any attention to the Eagles MIGHT phrase it as “Passing the Torch?”
“Beginning of a new dynasty.”
Tom Brady is old, Patriots had injuries, it was too cold, it was too hot, the politics between Kraft/Brady/Belichick brought down the Patriots and not the Eagles.
But more seriously, if Eagles win, it will be because the OL and DL won. But to outside observers, that will mean “Brady couldn’t complete a pass!” and “The Patriots defense didn’t show up today!” because nobody knows what the linemen do.
Like when we beat the Cowboys and their tears were ‘lost key people’and we have no weapons .. boo hoo all those guys you cry will make the Hall are no good now
Probably it will be all about the Pats nationally, but who cares if we win!
If this happens, I’ll honestly be too happy to care.
We can go for style points with the 2nd win. Brady could break his leg on the way to the coin toss and I’d take the win with open arms.
I’ve been tirelessly scouring the internet for a spare patriot jock. Can’t find one, they’re all taken by the media, analysts and other experts.
“Opinion: We’re living in the middle movie of a trilogy, where the bad guys keep on winning and hope fades. But this Sunday, Philly could turn the tide.”
https://www.buzzfeed.com/tommcallister/defeat-evil-stand-with-philadelphia?utm_term=.co6zzZ1aa4#.ww5MMqXmmb
Game Day fellas. Do your routines, your game day rituals. One more game.
Playoff beard is in full swing (I’m looking pretty crazy atm).
So Kenny Britt hasn’t played in the playoffs yet. I’m guessing he’s the key to the Patriots offense today then.
Oh crap, I still have nightmares of that game when he single-handedly destroyed us.
Did we have Darby, Sul, Prob then?
RLY?
We had Dimitri Patterson who prior to that game looked like a shutdown corner.
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/625c79e8056972fc0c3dea6ed4ee675ba33f2d4975c06b14e74cd7d88094922a.jpg
This idea that Belichick is going to outcoach DP is ridiculous. Nobody has done a better job than DP this year. What makes B.B. so great is his ability to do it year after year at such a consistently high level. DP has to prove he can do that, but I don’t expect him to be mismatched today.
And he’s going up against a 17-year veteran QB who is the best player at his position of all time and still in his prime. Pederson is still handicapped by going out with his backup QB who is limited in certain areas. This game has more to do with Schwartz vs Brady and how well Foles performs. It doesn’t have much to do with Bellichick vs. Pederson.
Brady is not “still in his prime”.
He’s still a great player, and very savvy and smart, but physically, he’s nowhere close to what he was circa 2007. Doesn’t have the arm strength he used to, doesn’t have the foot speed he used to.
The fact that he’s still so effective despite physical skills that have deteriorated somewhat is a testament to how great he’s been.
Controversial opinion here but McVay definitely deserves COTY. He took a 4-12, under-acheiveing team, with a “bust” QB and completely turned the franchise around. He would have had my vote (because I would have based it SOLELY ON THE REGULAR SEASON).
Pederson would have been 2nd. Marrone 3rd, Zimmer 4th and I probably wouldn’t have voted for Bellichick because he’s been so good for so long that this year was nothing special.
I think if you based it SOLELY ON THE REGULAR SEASON, Pederson wins it. We were the #1 seed and we lost some important players.
Rams offense 2016: 32nd
2017: 1st
DVOA 2016: #30
2017: #2
Jared Goff 2016: #32 DVOA
2017: #6
Rams record 2016: 4-12
2017: 11-5
Guys, it’s not really that much of a mystery.
Still not better than Dougie.
Right, I expect most fans will support Dug, for exactly the reasons you gave.
QB wise
Goff being labeled a bust that early was stupid and led by the media.
Wentz came from NDSU and looked nowhere close to where he is today compared to last year. Do I have to mention that he would have been MVP this year instead of shedding a label? Checkmate McVay.
Team wise
Yea sure 4-12 to 11-5 sounds great. Could I confidently say that they would have the same record without some of their best players with hindsight? No. DVOA can eat dirt without context.
He only had 2 meaningful losses and the degree of difficulty getting the #1 seed is significantly harder. That’s why I think Pederson deserved it.
He deserved it because he was just a better coach. It’s not magic and we don’t need some formula to determine that.
Yes, and the two QBs that failed in that system played in the NFC conference game today. If we’re gonna discount Foles’s and Kennum’s stats for the Jeff Fischer effect, then these stats need to be looked at skeptically, too.
That Rams team already had a lot of talent when McVay arrived (Gurley et al.) and they stayed almost entirely healthy this season.
He’s not a totally undeserving candidate at all. I’m okay with him winning. But there’s no way it should’ve been a runaway.
Im sure Doug, if asked, would take the Lombardi over COTY.
I don’t mind McVay winning COTY. What he did was impressive, no doubt. What I, and my reading of others’ reactions, take issue with is the fact that Doug got only 1 single vote and that was probably the homer Philadelphia based voter. Total disrespect for what Pederson accomplished.
AR was COTY how many times?
Just get the Lombardi and no one will ever care about any of the other accolades.
We all we got. We all we need.
I don’t see that as disrespect, just that the Ram’s turnaround was much more spectacular in almost every way. It’s no disrespect to Kevin Durant to say LeBron James is the best player.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RznFr8cNlzU&feature=youtu.be
LOL
damn DAK SUCKS !!!!
Dak sux bad bro
Dak strikes me as the kind of person who has way too much confidence for no good reason at all.
Look, David Carr may have won the skills competition, but it’s clear he has better coaching and is less efficient and has fewer #AirYards on his throws.
Embarrassing for Dak.
In all seriousness, Carr was a #1 overall pick who failed primarily because he struggled in the face of NFL pass rushes (and wasn’t given any help by his team). Arm talent was never the issue. He should be expected to excel at a competition like this.
Brady already showing indecision, couldn’t figure which bus to get on.
He got confused because he thought Graham was chasing him.
This whole Super Bowl thing feels surreal to me. I don’t want to get excited but I’m not pessimistic either. I’m nervous, I could only imagine how the players feel.
Usually, the SB is fun, hanging with the buds and cheering against whatever team I hate more. What a feeling it’s going to be to see the Eagles, our team, taking the field.
Was at the supermarket earlier. Tons of Eagle fans. A few pats. And some dude wearing a cowboy jersey. Closest they’ll get.
CAN YOU FEEL IT IN YOUR DOGGONE BONES?!?!?!?!?!?
Let’s get rid of underdog today!
A short disappointing as it is that JP missed this oppurtunity, I am so excited for Brent Celek. He is the epitome of what it means to be an eagle. He has selflessly plate his role and always put the team first. Nobody deserves this more than Celek.
Philly crowd control stepping up their game. We’ve got a new trial. Crisco has been replaced with hydraulic fluid.
http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/22318970/philadelphia-police-use-hydraulic-fluid-prevent-climbing-poles
Can you conquer level 5 celebratory pole climbing?
I’m trying so hard not to blow all my energy before the game but I am GETTING SO FUCKING HYPED, RRRRRRRRRRRAHHHHHHHH
If you’re ready to run through a brick wall listen to Barchard’s rant at the very end of this podcast.
https://www.bleedinggreennation.com/2018/2/3/16969082/super-bowl-lii-24-hours-eagles-vs-patriots-countdown-philadelphia-new-england-preview
start at 1:20:30.
Soooooo, with who and where did you decide to watch the game?
At home, with my girlfriend. I decided I just didn’t want to risk the distractions of having to socialize with people who might not be that into the game. Super bowls where the eagles aren’t playing that’s fine but today is special.
Good choice, hang with us too.
I’ll probably stay off of here unless I get really angry about how we’re playing. Rather than yelling at the TV I tend to come here and rant lol.
what ever works. Might be some rough going, but have a lot of faith this team is going to pull this off.
I just somehow found myself going to a sort of Superbowl party at my BIL’s house. And my wife and FIL and 9-year old will be there too. WTF! I’ll be far too embarrassed to get on the laptop and spew here…
Ewww gross.
Keenum should have been comeback player of the year.
Can’t be a comeback player if you were never there to start.
Yeah you beat me to it.
It would be interesting if they also added a Breakout Player award.
Carson?
Agholor.
Well, it’s just a football game gentlemen. It’s not even an away game. It’s a neutral field game.
Biggest football game of the year. But just a football game.
The Eagles win these kinds of games. This is all routine stuff. The Pats might not have five guys that would start on our team. Talent wins games.
And we know that Billy B. is the great head coach of all times. But again, our coaching TEAM stands up to any coaching team in the league. Talent plus coaching wins games.
So once again with fervor, fellas. I’m going to say it this way…
“WE ALL WE GOT! WE ALL WE NEED! GO EAGLES!”
With Patricia having two feet out the door and McDaniels at least one, the needle definitely pointing Philly’s way.
This is more than just a game. Tonight is the liberation of Eagles fans and Philly area natives across the globe.
Nicky boy you are a real American!
https://youtu.be/fKJDAVvs_JA