Denver Native (Carol)
10-10-2010, 08:05 AM
http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_16300020
Brian Dawkins can be such a kid sometimes. It's always on game day when the Broncos' strong safety is caught not acting his age, although his inner child does not necessarily appear during the game itself but in the minutes before.
It's when 44 of his uniformed teammates huddle to hear Dawkins' pregame pep talk. Dawkins' exhortation does not include the R-rated language that was prominently featured in the motivational talks of Al Wilson, the Broncos' captain for the better part of the past decade.
But no player leaves Dawkins' private sermon without wanting to immediately turn and slam into the first opposing jersey that jogs by.
"He has great messages," Broncos nose tackle Jamal Williams said. "Every game is different, because we have a different approach to each game. But the energy he brings to his messages, it's like there's a fire inside."
Sometimes, the fire struggles to escape. Dawkins becomes so hysterical with emotions, so overcome with desire, his spirited testimony can become temporarily trapped in his mind.
"Sometimes he goes into it trembling," said Renaldo Hill, Dawkins' partner at safety. "He'll get a little tongue-tied. We're waiting for him to get the words out. You have to be patient with him. You know the message he's trying to deliver but sometimes we're: 'Spit it out!' It's fun playing with him."
Quickness comes from anticipation. Anticipation comes from wisdom. It follows, then, that Dawkins, who has attained more wisdom than any other Broncos player, was on Tennessee quarterback Vince Young lickety-split during a third-and-11 blitz last Sunday that forced an incompletion and gave Kyle Orton one more chance to become a hero.
"When the coaches call my number to make a play," Dawkins said Friday at his locker, "I try my best to make them look smart."
Age, and still a beauty
Against the Baltimore Ravens today at M&T Bank Stadium, Dawkins will play his final game as a 36-year-old. He turns 37 on Wednesday. That's — what? — 93 or so in football years.
"I don't even ask," said Don "Wink" Martindale, the Broncos' defensive coordinator. "I don't even want to know, so don't tell me how old he is. Sort of like the wife thing — 'I didn't realize you were that old,' OK?"
Against the Titans, Dawkins had a sack. He had another tackle for loss.
He had the hit on Young late in the game to help change a Broncos deficit into a Broncos victory.
Afterward, Dawkins was awarded a game ball for playing, as coach Josh McDaniels put it, "like a 24-year-old."
"I don't know about surprised, but amazed," said Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who spent 10 years in Philadelphia with Dawkins, including two as his defensive backs coach. "He's one of the guys I admire most in football. He is the spiritual and maybe the physical leader of that defense. He's the man, no doubt about it."
Nice words, but if Harbaugh is like all the other coaches who game plan against the Broncos' defense, he won't resist peeking in at Dawkins' age and trying to isolate him in coverage against tight end Todd Heap. Seattle tried with John Carlson. Indianapolis with Dallas Clark. The Titans with Bo Scaife.
That's fine. Next tight end to have a 50-yard receiving game will be the first.
"I play the way that I play, and when I can no longer do it at that level, I'll sit it down," Dawkins said. "It's not that time, so I'm going to continue to do it."
Hard work and blessings
The question started about four years ago, and it has become more frequent with each inspiring performance or milestone. He was inspiring last week and has a birthday this week, so why not again: How is Dawkins able to continue playing so well at an age when almost all of his contemporaries are now taking in their NFL Sundays from the sofa?
Almost always, Dawkins responds by saying he is blessed. With good reason. He has seen many players who have been talented, worked hard and taken care of their bodies.
And still they broke down, forced to stop playing.
Dawkins knows he's lucky. Not lucky, blessed. Not that this man of strong Christian conviction has ever taken his blessings for granted.
He has never said so, but for all the hardworking players he has met, it's difficult to imagine anyone who has better treated his body.
"I eat right," he said. "I don't allow any junk food into my body. Every day, I'm having some work on my body. Every day. Different types of massages. Not just the deep-tissue massages but all kinds of other massages. I get something worked on every day to make sure everything is moving right."
Twice a week, he sleeps in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. The vessel, which aids in a body's recovery, was awkward at first, but has long reached the comforts of routine. Dawkins brings his Bible for reading material, maybe his iPad to play games "and I'm out within minutes," he said.
He is a family man, a husband to his high school sweetheart Connie, a father to their four children. Yet, on Tuesdays, the players' off day, he always makes a trip into the trainer's room for treatment.
"My family is very understanding of the commitment it takes for me to continue to play at a high level in this game," Dawkins said. "My wife, she will push me. She makes sure I get in here and do what I have to do."
Harbaugh spoke about how Dawkins is such a man. Ray Rice, the Ravens' star running back, said, "When you look at a man, to define a man, he's somebody you want to model yourself after."
But today, game day in Baltimore, Broncos players will gather around and Dawkins will become a kid again. The beauty of his speech is he knows at least one man will come away inspired.
"On Sunday, just let Dawkins be Dawkins," Hill said. "Get out of his way and let him do his thing. You know at some point a moment is going to come, and it's so unpredictable. You can't anticipate it, but it's just: Let him do his thing."
Brian Dawkins can be such a kid sometimes. It's always on game day when the Broncos' strong safety is caught not acting his age, although his inner child does not necessarily appear during the game itself but in the minutes before.
It's when 44 of his uniformed teammates huddle to hear Dawkins' pregame pep talk. Dawkins' exhortation does not include the R-rated language that was prominently featured in the motivational talks of Al Wilson, the Broncos' captain for the better part of the past decade.
But no player leaves Dawkins' private sermon without wanting to immediately turn and slam into the first opposing jersey that jogs by.
"He has great messages," Broncos nose tackle Jamal Williams said. "Every game is different, because we have a different approach to each game. But the energy he brings to his messages, it's like there's a fire inside."
Sometimes, the fire struggles to escape. Dawkins becomes so hysterical with emotions, so overcome with desire, his spirited testimony can become temporarily trapped in his mind.
"Sometimes he goes into it trembling," said Renaldo Hill, Dawkins' partner at safety. "He'll get a little tongue-tied. We're waiting for him to get the words out. You have to be patient with him. You know the message he's trying to deliver but sometimes we're: 'Spit it out!' It's fun playing with him."
Quickness comes from anticipation. Anticipation comes from wisdom. It follows, then, that Dawkins, who has attained more wisdom than any other Broncos player, was on Tennessee quarterback Vince Young lickety-split during a third-and-11 blitz last Sunday that forced an incompletion and gave Kyle Orton one more chance to become a hero.
"When the coaches call my number to make a play," Dawkins said Friday at his locker, "I try my best to make them look smart."
Age, and still a beauty
Against the Baltimore Ravens today at M&T Bank Stadium, Dawkins will play his final game as a 36-year-old. He turns 37 on Wednesday. That's — what? — 93 or so in football years.
"I don't even ask," said Don "Wink" Martindale, the Broncos' defensive coordinator. "I don't even want to know, so don't tell me how old he is. Sort of like the wife thing — 'I didn't realize you were that old,' OK?"
Against the Titans, Dawkins had a sack. He had another tackle for loss.
He had the hit on Young late in the game to help change a Broncos deficit into a Broncos victory.
Afterward, Dawkins was awarded a game ball for playing, as coach Josh McDaniels put it, "like a 24-year-old."
"I don't know about surprised, but amazed," said Ravens coach John Harbaugh, who spent 10 years in Philadelphia with Dawkins, including two as his defensive backs coach. "He's one of the guys I admire most in football. He is the spiritual and maybe the physical leader of that defense. He's the man, no doubt about it."
Nice words, but if Harbaugh is like all the other coaches who game plan against the Broncos' defense, he won't resist peeking in at Dawkins' age and trying to isolate him in coverage against tight end Todd Heap. Seattle tried with John Carlson. Indianapolis with Dallas Clark. The Titans with Bo Scaife.
That's fine. Next tight end to have a 50-yard receiving game will be the first.
"I play the way that I play, and when I can no longer do it at that level, I'll sit it down," Dawkins said. "It's not that time, so I'm going to continue to do it."
Hard work and blessings
The question started about four years ago, and it has become more frequent with each inspiring performance or milestone. He was inspiring last week and has a birthday this week, so why not again: How is Dawkins able to continue playing so well at an age when almost all of his contemporaries are now taking in their NFL Sundays from the sofa?
Almost always, Dawkins responds by saying he is blessed. With good reason. He has seen many players who have been talented, worked hard and taken care of their bodies.
And still they broke down, forced to stop playing.
Dawkins knows he's lucky. Not lucky, blessed. Not that this man of strong Christian conviction has ever taken his blessings for granted.
He has never said so, but for all the hardworking players he has met, it's difficult to imagine anyone who has better treated his body.
"I eat right," he said. "I don't allow any junk food into my body. Every day, I'm having some work on my body. Every day. Different types of massages. Not just the deep-tissue massages but all kinds of other massages. I get something worked on every day to make sure everything is moving right."
Twice a week, he sleeps in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. The vessel, which aids in a body's recovery, was awkward at first, but has long reached the comforts of routine. Dawkins brings his Bible for reading material, maybe his iPad to play games "and I'm out within minutes," he said.
He is a family man, a husband to his high school sweetheart Connie, a father to their four children. Yet, on Tuesdays, the players' off day, he always makes a trip into the trainer's room for treatment.
"My family is very understanding of the commitment it takes for me to continue to play at a high level in this game," Dawkins said. "My wife, she will push me. She makes sure I get in here and do what I have to do."
Harbaugh spoke about how Dawkins is such a man. Ray Rice, the Ravens' star running back, said, "When you look at a man, to define a man, he's somebody you want to model yourself after."
But today, game day in Baltimore, Broncos players will gather around and Dawkins will become a kid again. The beauty of his speech is he knows at least one man will come away inspired.
"On Sunday, just let Dawkins be Dawkins," Hill said. "Get out of his way and let him do his thing. You know at some point a moment is going to come, and it's so unpredictable. You can't anticipate it, but it's just: Let him do his thing."