Dawkins: 'Greatest Fear Was Letting My Teammates Down'
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Weapon X is one of the most beloved athletes in Philadelphia sports history.
Now, Brian Dawkins is a semifinalist for the 2017 Pro Football Hall Of Fame.
"I realized that my haters have been my elevators, right?" Dawkins said to Chris Carlin and former teammate Ike Reese on Thursday's 94WIP Carlin And Reese Show. "They've hated on me and I used that as motivation and fuel to continue to grow, but none of that was the reason why I played the game. The reason why I played the game was because I loved it, I enjoyed it, and I care about my teammates.
Listen: Brian Dawkins on the 94WIP Carlin and Reese Show
"My greatest fear was not giving up a touchdown, or getting ran over, or giving up a big play or something. My greatest fear was letting my teammates down."
Dawkins played in 224 NFL games, 183 of them with the Eagles, recording 26.0 sacks, 37 forced fumbles, 37 interceptions, 16 fumble recoveries, 175 passes defended, 35 stuffs, and 1,131 combined tackles.
"The stat line in every category had a lot of numbers in it," Dawkins said. "I didn't want to be good at one thing. I wanted to have complete and total ability to affect the game in every way. That's why my caused fumbles are up as high as they are.
"I was a physical player. I called myself a contact player, I liked contact. That's something not a lot of people can say."
Related: Eagles Name Brian Dawkins As Football Operations Executive
Dawkins, 43, says thinking about the Hall Of Fame brings back some fond memories.
"Brings back a lot of memories of the teammates I played with, the coaches I played for, and all those good times. So it's a lot of pleasant memories that come back when you start talking about the Hall Of Fame."
Dawkins credits his late, great defensive coordinator Jim Johnson for revolutionizing the safety position and allowing him to blossom into Weapon X.
"If you have a talent in an area, [Johnson is] going to find ways to allow that talent to show by putting you in position," Dawkins said. "By designing specific schemes or blitzes, or whatever the case may be, to bring to the team what you do to help us win."
The 2017 class will be selected on Feb. 4, the day before the Super Bowl. Between four and eight new members will be chosen. Inductions will be in August at the Canton, Ohio, shrine.
