Brian Dawkins Admits ‘There’s Room For Worry For Philadelphia Heading Into Playoffs
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Philadelphia EaglesĀ fans will see their team in the playoffs this weekend, but the team’s regular-season finish likely has some fans worried heading into Monday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Hall of FamerĀ and Eagles legend Brian Dawkins watched as his former team fell from 10-1 to 11-6 to finish the season.
He thinks Eagles fans are justifiably worried.
“If youāre an Eagles fan ā I wonāt say all of them ā but I would say a great majority of them probably has some panic pushed in there,” he toldĀ Fox News DigitalĀ while discussing the benefits of Nirvana Super on his retirement fitness journey.
“But, as a former player, thereās no room for panic. If you panic, then youāre done. So, yes, youāre worried. Youāve been worried for about five weeks now if youāre being honest with yourself.”
The Eagles lost five of their final six regular-season contests, including back-to-back losses to theĀ Arizona CardinalsĀ and New York Giants, two teams that will be making selections in the 2024 NFL Draft’s top 10.
Dawkins spoke with Fox News Digital before the shocking 27-10 loss to the Giants when the NFC East title was on the line. The Eagles needed the Dallas Cowboys to lose to the Washington Commanders to win the division, but home-field advantage in the playoffs for two games was at stake.
No team wants to lose when the playoffs roll around, but Dawkins, who has plenty of playoff experience in 16 NFL seasons (13 in Philadelphia), hopes the Eagles can get things fixed.
“The thing that I hope that is happening is they finally had the honest conversation that they need to have,” he said.
What exactly is that conversation?
Dawkins admitted that, despite the loss to the Seattle Seahawks, he saw a better effort from the Eagles. But he also said he had “no idea what that was on the field” against the Cardinals.
The offense was stagnant again facing the Giants in Week 18, while the defense surrendered a number of big plays that led to points for New York.
“Thereās room for worry, thereās room for absolute concern,” Dawkins said. “Youāre just hoping they do what they need to do from a mentality standpoint. Itās a mental thing, itās not a physical thing. So mentality-wise, [they need to] fix the things in their mental spaces to go out and play impassioned ball to help potentially drive them to a long postseason run.”
Eagles fans may be looking to quarterback Jalen Hurts to provide the spark in the locker room.
“Itās not just Jalenās jobĀ as a leader to lead this football team, and thatās the thing I want to absolutely make clear,” he explained. “Yes, he is a true, tremendous cog in that. But when weāre in meetings, guess who Iām not talking to all the time as a defensive player? The quarterback. I have no idea what theyāre talking about in meetings when Iām on the defensive side of the ball.
“So, if we donāt have leadership in the room Iām in, and weāre depending on Jalen to lead us on game day and practice, no. Thatās not going to help us win. Guess what voice you donāt hear also in the special teams meetings. They wonāt hear my voice. ā¦ They wonāt hear the defensive leadership. They wonāt hear the offensive leadership and whatās going on there.
“What Iām saying is that itās not a one-person thing. Itās absolutely him going a long way in it, but itās absolutely not a one-person thing.”
What Hurts can’t be doing in Dawkins’ eyes is turning the ball over.
He’s thrown five interceptions and four touchdowns in the last four games, which is uncharacteristic for him.
But it’s going to take more than Hurts to get the Eagles backĀ to the Super Bowl,Ā Dawkins said.
Original article source:Ā Eagles legend Brian Dawkins admits ‘there’s room for worry’ for Philadelphia heading into playoffs