Former Eagles safety Brian Dawkins has announced his retirement from the NFL after 16 seasons.

Shortly before 10 a.m. on Monday morning, Dawkins made his decision known via Twitter stating,

The Lord has blessed me to play in the NFL for 16 years. I would like to thank the Eagles & the Broncos 4 believing In me. I would like 2 thank all my teammates & Coaches that I have been blessed 2 go to battle with. Along with u, the fans 4 helping make my career 1 that i have enjoyed tremendously. In other words. I am announcing my retirement from the NFL. #BBTB

A 9-time Pro Bowler and 6-time All-Pro, Dawkins was a 2nd round pick for the Eagles in the 1996 NFL draft. Over the next 13 seasons, Dawkins accumulated 898 tacked, 34 interceptions, and 21 sacks while being one of the Eagles biggest emotional and physical defensive presences of all-time.

In a surprising move, the Eagles allowed Dawkins to leave the team as he signed a 5-year, $17 million deal with the Denver Broncos on February 28, 2009. Dawkins played three seasons for the Broncos and was named the 2009 and 2011 Pro Bowl teams.

Throughout his 16-year career, the 38-year old Dawkins accumulated 1,131 tackles, 26 sacks, and 37 interceptions.

According to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Eagles have an open invitation on the table for Dawkins to come back to Philadelphia and retire with the team.

Well, it started good. (Image-B. Garfinkel)

It looked great!  Vince Young threw a deep ball down the right sideline and Riley Cooper made a superb catch.  A few plays later, LeSean McCoy crept into the endzone for a touchdown.  The Philadelphia defense made a short drive look easier than I could have ever anticipated against a dominant New England offense.  Another deep ball to DeSean Jackson and a seemingly unimportant stalled drive resulted in a field goal and 10-0 Eagle lead.  Three drives and the Eagles looked like the dominant football team.  The problem is three drives do not a football game make.

Eagle fans learned that in a blink of an eye.  The Patriots rattled off a run that I am still working on fathoming to this very moment close to three hours after the the scoreboard ticked zero.  After the initial ten points put up by the Eagles, the Patriots outscored the birds 38-10.  Tom Brady had his way with the lackluster Eagle defense for the next three and half quarters.  He would connect with four different receivers twenty-four times for a total of three hundred sixty-four yards.  Wes Welker would catch two touchdown passes and Rob Gronkowski would continue to be a Brady favorite as they hooked up for another touchdown.  Add on two rushing touchdowns from BenJarvus Green-Ellis and a field goal from Stephen Gostkowski, and you have yourself one lopsided football game.

Young had a career record 400yds passing. (Image-Drew Hallowell)

If someone were to tell me that Vince Young would throw for four hundred yards and end up with only one touchdown pass and a tally in the loss column, I would never have believed it.  So where did it go wrong?  Hard to say, but I will start with the 10 carries given to McCoy throughout FOUR quarters.  There is absolutely no good reason as to why a pro bowl caliber running back should be limited to ten carries.  Taking the ball out of your best players hands is unacceptable, especially when your weapons are limited by injuries.

Then, there is Desean Jackson and his horrendous showing (I give credit where it may not be due by even calling it a “showing”).  Jackson dropped two touchdown passes in the three score loss.  One in the second half that let slip through his hands.  The other, more disappointingly, appeared as though he pulled a Todd Pinkston and alligator armed a touchdown opportunity in the first half.  Andy Reid would bench the “confident” wide receiver.  Jackson would later tell reporters, “Nothing I can do.”  Uh, yes there is.  If you want the big contract, catch the ball.  Earn it.

Perhaps equally as embarrassing as the final score and the showing that the team had all in all is the alleged argument between defensive line coach, Jim Washburn and offensive coordinator, Marty Mornhinweg.  Apparently, Washburn was not happy about the playcalling and the two had a bit of a spat during the most embarrassing loss I have witnessed in my near quarter century as an Eagle fan.  I know many fans share my sentiments because of the near empty stadium that is usually filled with fans who are willing to chant “E-A-G-L-E-S…EAGLES!” during baseball season.  I know my thoughts are similar to their’s as they chanted to have the decade tenured coach fired.

More than anything else, I know my idea is in the minds of others because we are Philadelphia fans.  And let’s face it.  When a loss like that clearly mirrors an entire season in a city like our’s…that is just plain unacceptable.  Enough is enough…

- MA

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Washington, D.C. – Philadelphia Eagles Quarterback Michael Vick appeared on Capitol Hill on Tuesday alongside the Humane Society to back legislation that would penalize those who knowingly attend animal fights and allow minors to attend.

The bill, H.R. 2492, titled, Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act of 2011, was introduced by Vick, Wayne Pacelle, president and chief executive officer of the Humane Society of the United States, and Representatives Tom Marino and Betty Sutton.

Vick drove to Washington, D.C. from Philadelphia on Tuesday morning to show his support for the bill.  He told the crowded room that holding spectators accountable for their actions will help dissauade animal fights from occurring.

“Since my case came to light, the laws against animal fighting have been upgraded,” Vick said. “And here’s another opportunity to strengthen the law and establish an even stronger deterrent.”

“Too many kids get involved in dogfighting, and it’s time to break this cycle,” Vick added. “Animal fighting is a dead-end road for the young men, and there’s nothing but terrible outcomes for the dogs placed in a pit to fight.”

To watch the full Michael Vick press conference on Capitol Hill, watch below:

As the NFL owners continue their day long informational meeting regarding the on-going labor negotiations, details of a potential new collective bargaining agreement have started to leak.

According to Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com, commisioner Roger Goddell has informed owners of several details that have been negotiated in a new collective bargaining agreeement.

In the proposed agreement the players would receive a 48 percent share of “all league revenues.” Under the old agreement the players received nearly 60 percent of total revenues AFTER the league took $1 billion off the top of the leagues $9 billion revenue model. Revenue sharing had been one of the biggest negotiating hurdles during negotiations.

In the new model no money would be taken off the top by the owners. The players share would never fall below 46.5 percent of all league revenues.

In addition to the new revenue scale the two sides continue to negotiate on several key issues:

• A rookie wage scale will be part of the new deal but is not finalized
• There will be a new 16-game Thursday night schedule that will generate new revenue
• An 18-game regular season will not be part of the new deal but will remain a negotiable item
• Teams will be required to spend 90-93 percent of the salary cap
• Retired players will receive improved health benefits and pension funding from an expected increase in league revenue

The NFL and decertified players association are set to resume negotiations later this week.

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Reid: Look of offense won’t change

Oneida, NY - Former NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress has been released from prison.

He was released at approximately 9am EST on Monday morning.

Burress, formerly of the Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Giants, turned in his prison clothes for his own and left Oneida Correctional Institution early Monday morning.

He has spent the past 20 months and 14 days in Upstate New York’s correctional facility.

Burress was jailed back in 2008 on charges related to when he accidentally shot himself in the leg at a New York nightclub with an unlicensed gun.

The former wide receiver will be an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any NFL team as soon as the lockout comes to a close.

NFL owners held a meeting in Chicago on Wednesday to discuss the league’s on-going labor dispute.

Commisioner Roger Goodell and league owners met to formulate a negotiating plan as the lockout reaches its 80th day.

However the surprise of the day was NFLPA* leader DeMaurice Smith and several players association officials were also on hand for the meeting.

It is the first time the two sides have met outside of mediation since immediately after the Super Bowl back in February.

According to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen:

One source said any potential deal still was a ways away, however, the hope would be that the two sides could get something done sooner rather than later, potentially even later this month.

With the two sides needing to be in St. Louis on Friday, Chicago made sense as a logical meeting place. NFL owners, including Dallas’ Jerry Jones, New England’s Robert Kraft and Carolina’s Jerry Richardson, each were in Chicago along with Goodell.

The meetings were so secretive that, as of Wednesday night there, there were other NFL owners that didn’t know what was taking place.

The NFLPA was equally secretive, declining to respond to inquiries about the meeting and its leaders’ whereabouts.

Wednesday’s meeting was the first lockout related development in the past three weeks. The Eight Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear the NFL’s case against Judge Nelson’s injunction ruling on Friday, June 3. Mediation between the two sides is set to resume Tuesday, June 7.

The NFL announced on Tuesday that it is cancelling next months rookie symposium due to the ongoing labor dispute.

The symposium was scheduled to begin on June 26 at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Although mini camps and OTAs have been missed the symposium is the first league-wide scheduled event to be removed from the NFL calendar. 

The symposium is designed to teach rookies life lessons on dealing with football, finances and their new lifestyle.

The league and players are next scheduled to appear in court on June 3 when the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals is set to hear the NFL’s appeal of Judge Susan Nelson’s ruling to place an injunction on the lockout.  The two sides are set to resume mediation on June 7.

The two day mediation session between the NFL and its players has come to an end without a new collective bargaining agreement.

Albert Breer of the NFL Network reports that the talks have ended after two days.

NFL general counsel Jeff Pash announced that mediation will resume on June 7, days after the June 3 hearing before the Eighth Circuit on the appeal of Judge Nelson’s ruling to lift the lockout.

For now there will be absolutely no new football news until June 3 at the earliest.

The NFL owners and players will continue court-ordered mediation on Tuesday in efforts to bring the 63-day lockout to an end.

While a new deal is not expected to be negotiating during this round of negotiations, ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio reported Monday evening that the two sides were making progress.

The NFL has presented the NFLPA* with a new proposal, different than what was proposed back in March, to which NFLPA* director DeMaurice Smith dubbed “The worst deal in sports history.”

Lawyer Michael Hausfeld, who filed a separate lawsuit on behalf of retired players, told Paolantonio: “The players are considering their proposal and formulating a response. It’s not acceptable as is, but it’s a starting point.”

With the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling to grant a stay of execution, the leverage is currently with the owners. A new proposal made in “good faith” to the players could help bring the two sides together.