It’s never easy getting old. The good part is that one only has to do it once if they are lucky. Still, the worst part about getting old is when other people tell a guy he is getting old.
So when Brian Dawkins, all of 35, was told he was getting old, well, he didn’t like it very much. You see, when they call a player old that means they already have bypassed such terms as “experienced,” “savvy,” and “veteran leader.” Those things are almost as bad as hearing how a player just climbed up on the all-time franchise lists in categories that require longevity as much as talent.
No one ever wants to hear that.
That's especially the case on a team like the Eagles in which a player's age is sometimes a determining factor for whether they get to hang around or not.
Nevertheless, Dawkins even took the time to address his… ahem… elder statesmanhood.
“There have always been plays I didn’t make for whatever reason, which I knew the reason, [but] people are going to pull out every negative thing,” Dawkins said a few weeks ago. “But the thing about me as a player … those one or two plays are not the telling signs of a player. You have to look at the whole scope of what he brings to the table. I feel I’m still playing the game at a high level, and as long as I’m able to do it, I’m going to continue to do it.”
But Dawkins is getting old. Actually, maybe Dawkins is just getting older. In terms of “continuing to do it,” the old man was truly the catalyst for the Eagles defense in Sunday’s 44-6 romp over the hated Dallas Cowboys at the Linc. Actually, catalyst might not be strong enough. Dawkins wasn’t just the proverbial straw that stirred the drink as another Philadelphia native once said, but he was more like a food processor. He put everything together.
It was Dawkins, after all, who forced fumbles on consecutive drives by the Cowboys. Both of those fumbles were returned for touchdowns that put an early exclamation point on the game. Better yet, they were historical plays, too. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time in NFL history that a team had two fumble return touchdowns of 70-or-more yards in the same quarter.
The only other time a team returned two fumbles for a touchdown on 70-plus yard plays in the same game was when the Eagles did it against the Giants on Sept. 25, 1938.
“Old Man” Dawkins was nowhere to be found on that day, either.
Dynamic might be a better description because Dawkins certainly isn’t crafty like Phillies’ old-timer pitcher Jamie Moyer. Dawkins is dynamic in that he still brings the heat. His game hasn’t changed much over time. Oh sure, he probably is more savvy than in years past, but even 13 years into this career (and with a few more on the way), Dawkins is far from a junk baller.
Just look at those two big plays in the second quarter. The first one Dawkins came around the far end, zeroed in on quarterback Tony Romo and leapt like a wild cat at the ball. With one hand he swatted it toward Chris Clemons who scooped it up and rumbled 73 yards to pay dirt.
“I know Tony is a guy that is trying to extend the play with his legs, so I was just trying to get to him as quick as possible and hopefully get the ball out,” Dawkins said. “I was happy that stopped that drive. It kind of deflated their excitement.”
The next forced fumble wasn’t as emphatic as the first one, but it took more skill. That one came when running back Marion Barber slipped away from Dawkins inside the 5-yard line. Somehow Dawkins not only punched the ball loose, but also batted it inbounds so that Joselio Hanson could pick it up and dash 96 yards for the touchdown.
“The second fumble, I was just laying out and trying to make the tackle, to be honest with you,” Dawkins said. “I swiped at the ball, but you just tell me how that ball stayed inbounds and I was able to punch it back on the field. I have no idea.”
Not bad for an old guy, right?
“He looks like he gets younger every day,” Clemons said.
That’s the part that everyone in the locker room sees. Though Dawkins barely practiced in the days leading up to Sunday’s game, there was never a doubt that he was going to be out there. Had he simply dashed onto the field for the last game, tipped his cap and ran around the field a bunch of times, it might have been enough for his teammates.
But not for Dawkins.
“It’s about game time,” Dawkins said. “I give what I got. Whatever I had I gave.”
That part was noticed, too.
“He could barely practice all week. He was banged up, sick and he came out and played great for us,” safety Quintin Mikell said. “If nothing else, I played my heart out for that guy because he deserved that from us.”
At the very least, Dawkins has two more games as an Eagle. One will come next Sunday in the playoffs against the Vikings and the other will be in Hawaii for his team-record seventh Pro Bowl.
For Dawkins it’s about nothing more than answering the call. When the game starts, nothing matters – especially not a player’s age.
“They say pressure busts pipes, and it can, but it really reveals who you are,” he said. “In those pressure situations, we came together. … We didn’t allow those troubled situations or those troubled times to get us down and keep us down. We rallied together.”