A Few Words About Brian

I could write pages about how unacceptable the recent DR posting drought is, or about how much I hate the once friendly sight of the animated detective who peered dismissively at all of us the past two weeks. I've considered a 2008 Year in Review. I've pondered a 2009 Predictions post. I've chewed and spit out the misguided idea of covering the Jet Travolta tragedy. I've mulled, and continue to mull, the post about Andy Reid's beard that obviously needs to get written sometime this week. So many topics remain in play, and so many great post ideas are there to be tackled, and hopefully will be. But in the end I'm here with something as unoriginal as washed-up celebs on reality tv and yet as inspiring as washed-up celebs on reality tv singing self-penned love songs as awkward as this.* I'm giving you a few simple words concerning the brilliance of two Brians, Dawkins and Westbrook, my two favorite Eagles.

BDawk:
While lounging in my living room this evening, me and my roommate passed the time by smoking the video crack pipe known as youtube. Barry Sanders. Walter Payton. Buddy's Watching You. It went on and on. Then he found a video I had never seen, a profile of BDawk on NFL Films, in which Steve Sabol interviews #20 in-between amazing clips of Dawkins speaking in tongues to the football during warm-ups, delivering highly motivational speeches to his teammates, and saying the word doggone a lot. But there was one clip that nearly made me cry. It was during a Redskins game last season, a game in which Dawkins was miked-up. He hits a guy head first, goes down, and almost immediately you can hear him crying. Not because he's hurt, though I'm sure his neck was mostly broken. He's crying because he knows he will have to leave the game, and the thought of leaving the field fills his Wolverine heart with anguish.

Brian Dawkins is no longer the player he was several years ago, and clearly not what he used to be, that is, the best safety in the NFL. But it doesn't matter. He's more than that. He's the leader who can lift the rest of the team with his sheer intensity, ginormous heart, and trusty mobile phone that contains only one number in it: God. I don't believe in God but I believe in BDawk, and I think before this season is over he will cement his stature as a Philly legend by doing one more legendary act.

BWest:
Football is strange. In my eyes Brian Westbrook is clearly one of the top two or three running backs in the league, and has been for years. Honestly he is THE best. But his career numbers, his lasting legacy outside of Philadelphia, are destined to be overlooked and largely forgotten. It took him several years to even get on the field as a regular, and nagging injuries have kept him from playing full seasons. So should I care that the most electrifying running back in Eagles history isn't truly appreciated by the rest of the country? Probably not. Here in Philly we know what he does, and marvel as he does it when we need him most. The man is also shorter than a breakfast muffin and has the best beard on the team, an irresistible combination if ever one existed. His touchdown last Sunday against Minnesota was a classic Westbrook scamper; besides the ridiculous physical ability and intelligence it demonstrated, it fucking mattered. It ended the game, a game we easily could have let slip away had it stayed close. Westbrook is clutch. He wields the dagger.

One final point about the two Brians and what they do. They lead the team. They make it possible for McNabb to say all the stupid worthless comments he makes, because nobody on the team pays attention to what he says anymore, because BDawk and BWest are the guys who lead the team, the guys whose voices matter in the locker room.

I told you it wasn't original. I just had to give them fellas their due. Now c'mon DR, let's get back in gear!



*I literally covered my face while watching this. So painful.