Brian Dawkins Quotations

We stopped the run, we stopped the pass, we kept people out of the end zone, ... but yet we still get looked down upon.

We're more of a unit this season; that's why we're better,

We knew they were going to try and run the ball. That was no secret. We knew they don't throw the ball down the field. And with the defense we run as far as the blitzing package, it makes them even less likely to go down field. We kind of figured what they were thinking.

We knew they were going to try and run the ball, ... That was no secret. We knew they don't throw the ball down the field. And with the defense we run as far as the blitzing package, it makes them even less likely to go down field. We kind of figured what they were thinking.

We know what it takes to get ourselves back on the winning side. It takes hard work.

We know we have to hit the ground running. We're starting off with St. Louis, and you can't get harder than that.

I'm playing this game because I'm blessed and want to help this team win the Super Bowl, ... At the same time, I want to be considered the best safety that has ever played the game.

My age is getting up there, but that doesn't mean my play has to diminish.

I'm always striving to do more. Whatever I accomplish, it's not enough. I don't get satisfied.

Respect is not given, it is earned.

I will never have my best season.

This program was excellent and offered much more than I expected. The professors were impressive and explained the material in a way that all of us could understand. I really enjoyed the class on real estate because that is an area I hope to get involved in one day.

We're just giving up too many big plays, ... We've got to stop giving up so many big plays.

Last year you saw Porter do his thing a little bit. He was the featured guy and he made some big plays for them . . . Though you have to pay attention to Randy because of all the physical attributes he brings to the game, you still have to pay attention to Porter, because the guy can still go up top on you. He is a big guy (6-2, 220) that can run.

Last year you saw Porter do his thing a little bit, ... He was the featured guy and he made some big plays for them . . . Though you have to pay attention to Randy because of all the physical attributes he brings to the game, you still have to pay attention to Porter, because the guy can still go up top on you. He is a big guy (6-2, 220) that can run.

Oh, yeah, a tad bit. To have the things that have happened this off-season and going into training camp, it has been a lot different than anything I've experienced. I'm hoping and praying that nothing else breaks out.

Mentally, I just can't imagine what he's going through right now. But he's tough. He's going to push through this. I'm sure he'll do whatever it takes to get back.

One of our stations went 11 feet under. The other went 4 feet under.

Moss is spectacular, we all know that. But with me waiting over the top for him most of the afternoon, you could see the frustration in his eyes, in the way he ran his routes. That's not something that happens with T.O. Every route run is hard and crisp. Every possession has an intent to it.

No year is a cakewalk. Last year, we just steamrolled through people. Every game is not going to be like that.

Only Terrell knows what he is going to do.

If they are able to run the ball, we can't continue to do what we did with me kind of going to Randy and being over the top some of the time. You can't continue to do that. You have to be able to put a safety in the box to help. But because they were able to do what they did up front, we can just sit back there.

I don't care who we bring in here or what players we have, everything goes through him,

But that shouldn't matter to us. If they get the ball on the 30-yard line, our mind-set is we should still hold them to a field goal.

I hate to go because somebody has gone down with an injury, but being the first alternate, that happens. This is something that I work for each and every year and I never take it for granted. It's an honor.

I feel great, ... I mean, I feel really great.

I can't sit here and try to tell you what Terrell is going to do. Only Terrell knows what he is going to do.

I can only hope that loss drives a lot of guys, ... I can honestly say that in my training sessions, my mind was focused on the fact that those last couple of steps off the field was somebody else celebrating once again in a big game. Personally, I don't want that to happen again, and I am going to do everything in my power not to have that happen again.

For me, what happened this year, with this team, with all the injuries and stuff, I can't put too much into it.

If that's the case, why did it take seven years? It would have been three years or four years into it that they found out what we're doing offensively and defensively. I think that has more to do with our play. You have to put two and two together.

He has a gun for an arm, but the things he can do with his legs, man.

He has a gun for an arm, but the things he can do with his legs. For one thing, he can fly. Number two, chasing him down is going to get you tired for the next play. So, you kind of would say you want him to throw the ball, but at the same time you understand that he has a gun for an arm.

He hasn't mentioned anything other than football since we've been here. If you don't get involved in it with the press, you'd have no idea what was going on.

He has the receivers to make the plays downfield like they've been doing. We want to get the pressure like every other quarterback, but in particular, you have to be able to get to this guy. You can't allow him to just sit back there and pass the ball.

He has the receivers to make the plays downfield like they've been doing, ... We want to get the pressure like every other quarterback, but in particular, you have to be able to get to this guy. You can't allow him to just sit back there and pass the ball.

We can go out and win every game. We talked about winning; it starts with the first game. We have another tough game coming up and I see no reason why we can't win that one.

We talked about winning out. It starts with the first game, and we won today. We have another tough game coming up next Monday (Seattle) and I see no reason why we can't win that one.

We've been through so much before as a team, all those big games that we have lost and the way that we have been able to rebound,

We take it day to day. Who knows what will happen any time - now, next week, before Game 5?

He runs the same routes. It's a 'go' route, and he throws his hand up if he feels he has you beat . . . Most of the time he feels he has you beat. They (also) run a couple of 'dig' routes and 'curl' routes to keep you honest. It's the same thing.

He's a guy that has every move you need as a running back. He can stop you in your tracks. He can stop and go on a dime. He can spin on you. He can catch the ball. He can run over you. He can bull you for 3 yards and get into the end zone. Then he has the jets to get past you. He has everything you need to be a great back, and that's why he is one.

He's handled it the way he's handled every situation since I've been here.

He is really, really, really quick off the ball.

I was almost in tears when I walked in there and saw that I was going to be a part of that, answering the phones and hearing the joy in peoples' hearts as they were giving.

Knowing what I know now about him I wouldn't go there, no way. Just be prepared for whatever. He's a great guy as far as a person goes, but he says what's on his mind, so you've got to be prepared for whatever.

I would say, the way I've started, that this is the best I've played,

Just pick one. I'll just toss them all in the air and you grab one. There were so many things that happened this year, it's been ridiculous.

I think we're a lot different from a lot of teams,

I think we just got back to doing the things that we do as a defense. That?s playing downhill.

I think that's a tribute to Andy and the veterans. We know what it takes to get back. It takes hard work. It takes dedication to what we're doing.

I watched Bing Crosby and Abbott and Costello yesterday. Two old classics.

I see a team that's ready to turn this thing around. I could sense guys' going out and preparing to enjoy this game. I don't know if that was the case the first couple games.

Really, I was kinda wanting for them to throw to him more.

Some of them would just hang up. They'd be like, 'Is this Brian Dawkins?' I'd say yes and they would hang up. Others would be loud and I would have to take the phone away from my ear and they'd donate. A lot of time they would ask for different people - 'Could you pass the phone to John Elway?' It was a fun atmosphere.

That was a huge, huge stretch for us.

That still irks me, ... But for the most part I think I have been able to be consistent and make plays for this team to help guys out and get everybody in the right place, as well as getting this defense in the right direction.

That's what I love so much about this team. We have some warriors here. We have some guys who go out there and fight. That's the best thing about this team. No matter what happens, we just keep fighting. You have to love that.

Winning does something to you. It releases something in you, it's confidence and you get that nasty taste of losing out of your mouth. You get that losing mentality out of your system. That first game is going to be critical. Once we get that first game, hopefully it will be this week, we can start doing what we need to do for the rest of the season.

We have to start putting more pressure on the quarterback. We need to play our type of aggressive football.

You always say the sky's the limit. But we kind of know what we can do, and this year we're going to set out to do it.

We have been through so much as a team, all those big games that we have lost and the way that we have been able to rebound. The thing that has always been consistent with us is that we have always stayed hungry.

We can't worry about the playoffs. We have to worry about the Giants.

We have to worry about the Giants right now. I'm going to let you guys speculate about the playoffs. If we beat the Giants, then we'll worry about whatever team comes on after that.

You knew this wasn't going to be the season you wanted it to be for the last four, five weeks. As a player, you have to have a short memory. You have to be able to get rid of the sting, prepare in the off-season and come out ready for next year.

We got the personnel, we got the coaching and we got everything we need to turn that thing around,

Those are things you don't understand and can't sweep under the rug,

You have peaks and valleys. At the end, after you've handled everything you need to handle in those valleys, you come back up in those peaks. We're at one of the peaks right now.

When you replace a Jeremiah a year ago and try to replace Hugh this year, we would never ask those guys to be those players. We just ask them to bring what they bring to the table, and hopefully it'll add to what we already have. But I would never say anybody could replace what we lost in Hugh. No one person could ever do that for us. Because what he brought wasn't just on the field, but in the locker room also.

Those were the plays that used to go our way in the past. But for whatever reason, this year everything continued to bounce away from us.

You love to have that on your team.

We definitely expect when he gets in a game for him to make a play. We expect those things from him now.

We definitely miss him. He's a guy we depend on for pass rush and stopping the run. He's a big, huge, strong dude in the middle.

We used that until they wrecked one of theirs.

There is a business side of the game. You may write about it, we may read about or see it on TV, but it does not affect what is going to happen between those lines.

Thornburg is coming up and making some big hits. He's a guy who hustles to the ball and is always around the ball when he gets in the game. He has certainly opened my eyes.

To risk what he is potentially risking to want to stay out on the field, that's just the toughness that he has. That really speaks to what he thinks of this team and what he is as a player.

We just have to understand that that?s not who we are, ... Who we are is a team that?s usually into the game in the fourth quarter.

The questions you have are the things we just have to go play through,

We've got to get back to putting pressure on the other side of the ball.

With the additions we've made and the maturation of Donovan, we should be better,

When I went to the Pro Bowl in Hawaii with my family, I was still in shock. That loss definitely fueled my fire this offseason.

We were focused on what was at hand ... this season, this game here. It's kind of hard to look ahead sometimes and try to see the light, but that was the light. The light was we lost last year in the Super Bowl, and we're trying to get back there. ... We're all pushing for that same goal.

We go out and don't take game-planning lightly and we don't take our jobs lightly. In saying all of that, I really do feel like we have a great shot to get to where we need to be this year.

You have to have something a little wrong with you to play defense. You're going in there knowing you are going to have to hit somebody. So you do have to have the mind-set to want to do it. I think we have taken that mind-set to a different level. We understand exactly what Jim wants from us. I think we're trying to take this thing to another level. We are trying to be one of the best, if not the best, defense to play for this organization.

You have to get to him. You have to get into his face, harass him, and not allow him to sit in the pocket back there. You can say what you want to say about him. He may hold onto the ball, but he has a rifle to get the ball where it needs to be on time if you allow that to happen.

We tried to mix it up as much as possible, ... When hes facing that kind of coverage, maybe he doesnt go out and run like he usually would run. In his mind hes thinking, I cant get past the safety.

We were ready to go from the jump,

We mixed it up. When you're facing that kind of coverage, maybe (Moss) doesn't go out and run like he usually would run. In his mind, he's thinking, well, I can't get past. It takes a weapon away from that offense.

You get ready to roll. There are things you have to deal with and as a professional. You handle it and move on.

This thing's not going to be easy. We can't just think that because we've went there two years in a row, it's a lock for us to get back. It's going to be a tough road to get back there again.

Did I do everything I needed to do?

Each guy in here has to look in the mirror and ask themselves:

There's pressure that starts to rise in the playoffs because you know you can make a mistake that will cause your team to lose the game. You have to have that pressure drive you and accept that pressure.

There's no way you can overlook an opponent, first of all, but second of all, we lost the previous game, so we definitely have to come out and try to win this one.

There's no way in the world I ever would have thought we would be in this position that we are in right now.

There will be some changes this off-season, but in no way does that mean that this is any type of a rebuilding thing. That is one thing I want to make crystal clear.

Questions are questions. I made it a point that I'm going to enjoy every minute of this thing ... even talking to you guys.

So, we know what it takes to get off the canvas and dust yourself off and get going again, regardless of anything that comes about. We know how to stay focused on the goal.

The bye week came at a good time because after a loss like that (in Dallas), guys can get away.

That's just one of those things that happen. They came out different (against the Giants) than they did last week. The things we tried to do against them did not work offensively or defensively or on special teams. None of us were able to get anything going, and they took advantage of it.