NFL legend Brian Dawkins talks Eagles, Patrick Mahomes and more in an interview with B/R | News, results, highlights, stats and gossip

The 7-0 Kansas City Chiefs are trying to become the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in a row, but it may take a group of Hall of Fame linebackers to stop them.

Hall of Fame linebackers like Brian Dawkins.

“Facing this criminal juggernaut under Andy Reid, I would love to – in my prime – take on these individuals,” the legendary guard told Bleacher Report.

Dawkins may have had a significant advantage considering he played under Reid with the Philadelphia Eagles for 10 seasons. Facing Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs would also mean facing Travis Kelce, and that’s a matchup football fans can only dream of at this point.

“You have to be physical with him, but you also have to be patient,” Dawkins said when asked what his strategy would be against Kelce. “Because he won’t necessarily pass you by. It’s not necessarily his game. His performance is nuanced, it reminds me of Antonio Gates. He had the same type of game where he acted like a basketball player, going through his route, and he’s rocking you to sleep before he makes a turn or a turn towards you.

“So you have to be physical and patient with these guys. You also need to skillfully pull their shirts. You have to hold them down for a while.”

The Eagles may have used him in Super Bowl LVII when they lost to the Chiefs, but it looks like his former team could be a title contender again this season.

While it was legitimate to ask questions after an uneven 2-2 start, especially after last season’s loss, Philadelphia currently has three straight wins and a 5-2 record.

The team also appears to have fully adjusted to life under new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Saquon Barkley wasted no time in making his mark, gaining over 100 yards from kickoff in six of seven games as arguably the best running back in the league, while quarterback Jalen Hurts threw four touchdowns in Sunday’s victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The defense also helped take control of Cincinnati in the second half with a fourth-down stop of Cooper DeJean and an interception of C.J. Gardner-Johnson.

“I love talking about the growing pains they experienced,” Dawkins said of the Eagles. “New offensive coordinator, new defensive coordinator. From this point on you will have ups and downs. I’m very happy that they didn’t play great at the beginning of the season because when you’re struggling, it shows you who you really are. Because if you’re honest, looking at the film will show you whether you have character in the locker room or whether you have a lot of character.

“You don’t necessarily need a group of characters, you want character. This can allow you to talk about the rules and foundations that need to be created in order for you to be productive as a team. And your offense and defensive coordinators start to see who they can trust so they can move forward and improve as the season goes on. I hope that’s what’s happening with this team and it seems to be happening after last week.

Dawkins brought a lot of character to the Eagles during his career and will forever be associated with the team.

He played the last three seasons with the Denver Broncos, but it was Philadelphia that selected him in the second round of the 1996 draft and helped him become one of the most dominant defensive backs of his generation during his first 13 years in the league.

The Hall of Famer was a nine-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro selection who finished his career with 37 interceptions and 36 forced fumbles in his career as a midfield hitter who made big hits and generated turnovers as a ballhawk.

One of the signature plays of his career was a monster hit against Atlanta Falcons running back Alge Crumpler in the 2004 NFC Championship Game, which turned up the heat as the Eagles advanced to the Super Bowl after losing the previous three conference title games.

However, these types of hits are few and far between in today’s game, which can be a source of frustration for former defensive players.

“I understand why they changed some of the rules the way they have, but at the same time there are certain aspects, especially the quarterback, where it’s almost to the point where they just have to put the flags on them and just let everyone else score. hit,” Dawkins said. “Because that’s what we saw.

“With Patrick Mahomes, it’s like the defenders stopped and then he ran away and everyone was like, ‘Look how amazing Patrick is.’ And I’m not saying that’s not the case, because obviously it is, but at the same time, when these guys are defenders, they come out and they don’t want to get a 15-yard penalty, so they drive up and he runs by, then I clear his clock. . If I get 15, I make 15. I clean his clock.

Dawkins also joked that he “would still have been fined a lot” even if he had played a little more cautiously in today’s match.

However, playing this way made him an Eagles legend and Hall of Famer, which in turn gave him a bigger platform after his career ended.

He uses this platform to help the military and veterans by partnering with USAA, Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) and Face the fight to increase mental health awareness and support the ongoing fight to prevent veteran suicide.

“I was fortunate to work at USAA for many years,” he said. “Being able to help veterans was amazing. This is another opportunity to join forces with them and thank the NFL Salute to Service team to talk about Face the Fight. I love this title. I always say it this way: the future is worth fighting for. Your future in which you will live is worth this fight.

“In this case, we wanted to amplify the message about our veterans and the suicide rate and how to use Face the Fight so that businesses and citizens can join veterans and help them. Face the Fight is an extremely powerful program. It provides such a powerful formula of hope for our veterans, and they so deserve it.”

Part of this effort included Dawkins joining WWP warriors in a 5K march with weighted backpacks to symbolize the mental and emotional burden each carries. The group also held a roundtable discussion to discuss the importance of mental health.

Dawkins, who said he preferred the term mental health to mental health, was very open about their previous struggles, which made this partnership more personal.

“It’s extremely important because of some of the things I developed during my rookie year, going into my second year as a National Football League player,” he said. “There were a lot of things going on in my life that I didn’t talk about or tell anyone. Some of the pressures of the NFL started to fall on me as well. I was a new husband, we had a baby boy, Brian Jr., who was colicky and cried all the time, so no one slept.

“I didn’t reveal it to anyone and I basically exploded. I got the help I needed through the help of my beautiful wife Connie and Uncle Emmitt (defensive coordinator Emmitt Thomas), my coach at the time. They joined forces to ask me for help. It was a blessing that I started to see things from a completely different perspective. This has given me a lot of insight into how I attack life, not just survive it, but attack it to thrive.”

Developing is exactly what he did on the field for so long, and he still enjoys seeing guards push the position forward with the same overall impact he had during his career.

“I love all-around safety,” Dawkins said. “I love versatility and guys who can do it all. Yes, make big hits, but also make interceptions, tackles, tackles and markings. I call this a chess player. Minkah Fitzpatrick has been that type of player for a long time who can do those special things.”

Fitzpatrick is a four-time Pro Bowler and three-time first-team All-Pro who leads the Pittsburgh Steelers into first place in the AFC North.

But the Baltimore Ravens are chasing them with another one of the league’s best defenders who also stands out.

“He’s a fantastic athlete,” Dawkins said of Kyle Hamilton. “He can do it all. As a defensive coordinator, you can use him in any situation. Can be successful all over the pitch. That’s what I tried to be, someone who could impact the game in every statistical category. He seems to be one of those guys.”

If they continue to play at this level, Fitzpatrick and Hamilton could one day join Dawkins in the Hall of Fame and be remembered as generational talents.