Domowitch: Why Brian Dawkins belongs in Canton
AS I PUT an "X" next to Brian Dawkins' name on my Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinal ballot the other day, I couldn't help but think of Jim Johnson
AS I PUT an "X" next to Brian Dawkins' name on my Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinal ballot the other day, I couldn't help but think of Jim Johnson.
You could make the argument that Johnson, the former Eagles defensive coordinator who died of cancer in 2009, made Brian Dawkins. You could also make the argument that Dawkins made Johnson.
What is inarguably true is that the two made absolutely beautiful music together with the Eagles.
"Jim's defense was designed around (Dawkins) and his playmaking ability," said Dawkins' good friend and former Eagles teammate, Quintin Mikell.
"Jim knew how to play to people's strength. It never was a secret that we were going to put Dawk in a position to make plays.
"A lot of the plays, the blitzes, the coverages, they all were designed for him to take away the other team's best player or for him to make plays. And that's what he did."
Dawkins is one of the best — and most beloved — players in Eagles history. Went to nine Pro Bowls. Was a first-team All-Pro four times. Helped the Eagles make it to five NFC Championship Games and one Super Bowl.
There is no doubt in my mind he will make it to Canton. It might not be this year, but it will be soon, very soon.
Dawkins redefined the safety position. He was a cornerback in a safety's body. He is the only defensive back in history with more than 25 sacks, interceptions and forced fumbles each.
"You always talk about players that changed the game or changed the position," said Mikell, now the Eagles' director of player engagement. "Dawk was really the first safety that really blitzed, covered, did it all.
"Ronnie Lott kind of did that, too. But he started out as a corner. In this era, Dawk was the first to do that. He made big plays when we needed them."
This is Dawkins' first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame. It's no secret safeties have had a hard time making it through the door. There are only seven guys with bronze busts in Canton who played safety their entire career.
I feel reasonably confident that Dawkins will get enough votes from the other 47 selectors to make it to the round of 25. After that, we'll see.
Another safety, former Buc and Bronco John Lynch, has been a finalist (final 15) the last two years. Lynch was a terrific player. But in my mind, at least, there's no comparison between him and Dawkins. But the other 47 selectors didn't have the benefit of watching him play every week for 13 years.
"The (safety) position used to be a lot different," said Mikell, who played alongside Dawkins. "But in my era, in the time I really started watching the game with football eyes, Dawk changed the position.
"Look at the position since he came in. You had (Troy) Polamalu. You had Bob Sanders. You had guys who, that's what the position became. You had tight ends who were becoming more athletic. So you had to have a safety that was more athletic.
"I don't know if it was the circumstances at the time or if he was the model for it. But he was really the first one that started that at that position."
Johnson knew he had something very special in Dawkins. The old man developed a close relationship with his star.
"Dawk was the one guy that Jim never yelled at or cursed at," Mikell said with a smile.
"When Dawk was a young guy, Jim went off on him once. Dawk must've gone upstairs after that and had a talk with him. Because from then on, if something happened, Jim would talk to all of us. He was really talking to Dawk. But he would yell at all of us."
Nobody is rooting harder for Dawkins to make the Hall of Fame than Mikell. They became best friends during the six seasons they spent together as teammates.
Now, they are together again, both working for the Eagles. Dawkins is a football operations executive.
"It's funny," Mikell said. "When I look back at other places I've been and talk to other players around the league, I reflect back on how fortunate I was to have a veteran guy at my position who was so well-rounded. I'm talking on the field, off the field, took care of his family. Dawk was a motivator. He was focused. He did everything the right way.
"I was very fortunate to be around him. It really turned my life around seeing how he conducted himself. He didn't go out and drink. He didn't go out and do a bunch of crazy stuff. He was focused every week. He played through injuries.
"Even when he had a rare bad game and the media was coming down on him, I sat back and watched how he handled everything. He always handled everything with grace and confidence.
"I feel that, even though we're different people personality-wise, a lot of him and his spirit is in me. He taught me how to become a true professional, a true father, a true husband. And just really to be a good human being. I was really fortunate for that."
Canton-bound?
Step 1 in the process of selecting the 2017 class for the Pro Football Hall of Fame begins Tuesday when the Hall's 48 selectors whittle down the list of 89 preliminary nominees to 25 semifinalists. I've been a selector for the last 15 years. Here's a peek at my ballot:
Dick Vermeil, coach: Eagles, Rams, Chiefs
Brian Dawkins, safety: Eagles, Broncos
Eric Allen, cornerback: Eagles, Raiders, Saints
Sam Mills, linebacker: Saints, Panthers, USFL Stars
LaDanian Tomlinson: running back, Chargers, Jets
Terrell Owens, wide receiver: 49ers, Eagles, Cowboys
Isaac Bruce, wide receiver: Rams
Alan Faneca, guard: Steelers
John Lynch, safety: Bucs
Joe Jacoby, offensive tackle: Redskins
Seth Joyner, linebacker: Eagles, Cardinals, Packers
Jason Taylor, defensive end: Dolphins, Jets Redskins
Steve Atwater, safety: Broncos
Sean Landeta, punter: Eagles, Giants, USFL Stars
Jimmy Johnson, coach: Cowboys, Dolphins
Chuck Knox, coach: Rams, Seahawks, Bils
Don Coryell, coach: Chargers, Cardinals
Kurt Warner, quarterback: Rams, Cardinals
Tiki Barber, running back: Giants
Edgerrin James, running back: Colts, Cardinals
Hines Ward, wide receiver: Steelers
Tony Boselli, offensive tackle: Jaguars
Karl Mecklenberg, linebacker: Broncos
Terrell Davis, running back: Broncos
Kevin Mawae, center: Seahawks, Jets, Titans
A special battle
The Eagles' special-teams coverage units will get a big test Sunday.
The Vikings' Marcus Sherels and Cordarrelle Patterson might be the best return tandem in the league.
The 5-10, 175-pound Sherels has returned two punts for touchdowns in the last three games. The 6-2, 220-pound Patterson is the league's leading kickoff returner, averaging 29.9 yards per return.
Patterson has led the league in kick-return average two of the last three seasons, and has has had four returns for touchdowns since 2013.
"They are two really good players with two completely different skill sets," said safety Chris Maragos, one of the Eagles' special-teams standouts. "But both of them are dynamic players.
"Sherels is really quick, really fast. He has a great feel for the game. Great vision. Patterson is just a really strong guy. Very competitive with the ball in his hands."
Maragos likened Patterson to former Cleveland Browns return man Josh Cribbs.
"He's a big-body guy, but very, very quick and elusive. And strong," he said. "He's the type of guy, especially on kickoffs, that you have to put a lot of hats on the ball at one time. No arm tackles. This is the type of guy you really have to put your body on him and get a good hit on him."
Except for that 65-yard punt return for a touchdown they gave up to the Bears' Eddie Royal in Week 2, the Eagles' coverage units have been excellent thus far.
Special-teams coordinator Dave Fipp has had kicker Caleb Sturgis mix up his kickoffs, sometimes going for the touchback, sometimes going for shorter returnable kicks with hangtime.
The result: Only one of Sturgis' kickoffs has been advanced beyond the 25-yard line in the first five games. And that one was an intentionally short end-of-the-half squib kick against the Bears. The Eagles are second in opponent average drive start on kickoffs (22.3).
Punter Donnie Jones is only 24th in net average (38.2), but has had only five of his 23 attempts returned. One, of course, was the Royal touchdown. But on the other four, the Eagles have allowed a total of 16 yards.
"We go out there with a gold standard," said one of the Eagles' other top special-teams players, defensive end Bryan Braman. "We've got a bunch of guys who try to do the best they can and set a standard that's obviously hard to achieve."
2-minute drill
FROM THE LIP
"I think the biggest misconception is that we want to go fast all the time. That's never been (the case). Trying to get the proper plays run, making sure that our guys know what they're doing and executing (is what I want). So, how fast we play or how slow we play, I don't think has ever been our mindset or our motto or mantra, so to speak." — 49ers coach Chip Kelly lying about his tempo offense
"I'm fine with it. He's doing a lot of good things and playing the game the right way. He just has to make sure the celebrations and what's going on aren't hurting the team in any way." —Giants QB Eli Manning on WR diva Odell Beckham Jr.
"It comes down to balancing a lot of issues. The professional standards that we want to uphold. We do believe that our players are role models, and others look at that at the youth level. So that's one element of it." —NFL commissioner Roger Goodell on why the league continues to take a hard stance toward touchdown celebrations
BY THE NUMBERS
Colts PK Adam Vinatieri is 16-for-16 on field goal attempts this season. He now has made 41 in a row, dating back to the second game of last season, and needs just one more to tie Mike Vanderjagt's record of 42 field goals without a miss, set in 2002-04.
Fifty games have been decided by seven points or fewer, which equals the most in the first six weeks in league history.
Drew Brees threw for 465 yards against Carolina on Sunday. It was his 15th 400-yard passing game, which is the most in history. Brees had been tied at 14 with Peyton Manning.
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott has thrown 176 passes without an interception. That's the longest interception-less streak ever to start a career. The old mark was 162 by some guy named Brady.
Figuring the Eagles
The Eagles continue to have trouble getting into manageable third-down situations. In Sunday's loss to the Redskins, they had 12 third-downs. Eight of them were 9 yards or more. In the first five games, only seven of their 63 third-down situations have been 3 yards or less. That's the fewest in the league. While Carson Wentz is seventh in the league in third-down passing, with a 98.5 rating, that's misleading. He has only 14 passing first downs on third down, which is the fewest by any team.
The Eagles have blitzed on only 31 of 172 pass plays (18 percent) in the first five games. They haven't been particularly good at it when they have blitzed. Opposing quarterbacks have a 112.9 passer rating when the Eagles have sent extra rushers.
A breakdown of the Eagles pass rush -- Cmp-Att Yds.TD/I Sk. Rat.
Blitz: 20-29 291 1/0 2 112.9
Don't blitz: 74-129 834 4/4 12 74.2
Blitz w/5 rushers: 17-25 260 1/0 2 115.4
Blitz w/6 rushers: 3-4 31 0/0 0 96.9
Blitz on 1st down: 6-7 110 0/1 1 79.2
Blitz on 2nd down: 9-10 99 1/0 1 141.2
Blitz on 3rd down: 5-12 82 0/0 0 65.3
The Eagles are tied for 19th in red-zone offense through the first six weeks of the season. They have 10 touchdowns in 19 red-zone opportunities (52.6). That touchdown percentage is slightly lower than last year, when they converted 55.8 percent of their red-zone opportunities into touchdowns. Carson Wentz has a 97.6 red-zone passer rating. He's completed 12 of 23 passes inside the 20. Has five TDs and no interceptions and has been sacked once. The Eagles have 83 rushing yards on 27 red-zone carries (3.1), including five touchdowns.
The Eagles are tied for ninth in red-zone defense. They've given up eight TDs in 16 opponent possessions (50.0). Opposing QBs have a 92.0 passer rating in the red zone. They've completed 11 of 25 passes for 82 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Opponents have only 11 rushing red-zone rushing yards on 16 carries.
Las Vegas oddsmaker Bovada lists the Eagles odds of winning the Super Bowl at 50/1. At the beginning of the season, they were listed at 33/1.
The Eagles are seventh in the NFL in points per drive (2.35), but only 18th in yards per drive (31.2).
This and that
It will be more important than ever Sunday for the Eagles to try and avoid third-and-longs and other obvious passing situations. The Vikings have 19 sacks in their first five games and are fourth in the league in sacks per pass play. Head coach Mike Zimmer loves to attack teams with double-A-gap pressure, lining up blitzers in the gaps on both sides of the center.
"Almost every team in the NFL at this point runs a form of a double-A-gap 'mug' pressure," center Jason Kelce said. "But they truly have the whole arsenal. Most teams have four to five deals out of it and you prepare for those. These guys, they have anything and everything you can imagine. So you have to prepare that much harder.
"They've got everything from bringing four to a side, dropping them out, popping guys and running stunts off of it; they have the full gamut of pressures out of that package."
Said offensive coordinator Frank Reich: "Zimmer is the master of it. It's his baby. He probably didn't invent it, but he's mastered it.
"What takes it to a different level is, they know what you're trying to do. They know what teams have done to try and counter it. So they try to counter that. It's just a cat-and-mouse game you play."
In the two games since returning from his rib injury, tight end Zach Ertz has gone from one of the team's top receiving weapons to a hood ornament. Ertz, who caught 75 passes last season and six passes in the season opener against the Browns before getting hurt, has just four catches for 59 yards the last two games. He's been targeted only six times since returning.
He had only one catch in Sunday's loss to the Redskins, though one reason for that was he often had to stay in and give struggling rookie right tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai blocking help.
"Obviously, you want the ball," Ertz said. "But that hasn't been the case the last couple of weeks. My job is go out there and run the best routes I possibly can. And when the ball's in the air, try to make plays.
"Obviously, Carson (Wentz) has reads he's got to progress through. If I get the ball, great. If not, great, too."
Reich was asked Thursday whether pass-rush pressure wasn't allowing Wentz to get to Ertz in his read progressions.
"Zach being out a couple of weeks and getting back in, sometimes it just takes a couple of weeks to get worked back in," he said.
"I tend not to overanalyze targets in a microscopic sense. I need to see it over three or four weeks. And then if a guy isn't getting targeted, then I say maybe we're not doing enough for him. But just one or two weeks, I tend to just say that's the flow of the game."
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