The Broncos have great representation in this season’s Pro Bowl. In addition to Elvis Dumervil, Champ Bailey, Von Miller, Ryan Clady and Willis McGahee, Broncos’ safety and team leader, Brian Dawkins, was added to the AFC roster, replacing Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu. This is Dawkins’ ninth Pro Bowl, second to former Bronco John Lynch’s record of most Pro Bowl appearances by a safety. Dawkins finished the season with 51 tackles and 3 sacks, however could have had a lot more if he was healthy for the last five games of the season. Now closer to 100%, Dawkins fully intends to play in this Sunday’s Pro Bowl. Scottie Graham had a chance to catch up with Dawkins in Hawaii.
SG: What did you do when you realized you were elected to your ninth Pro Bowl?
BD: When I finally got elected it was a very exciting time. I don’t take these things for granted. I know some guys or some fans think it’s not a big deal but it’s a huge deal for me. To have the opportunity to play amongst my peers and be voted in as one of the best at the position that I play is a huge honor.
Dawkins’ offseason did not focus solely on individual workouts. Instead, as a member of the NFLPA executive committee, his schedule consisted of endless hours of meetings with league representatives in order to get the current CBA completed and football back into the stadiums.
SG: What did you learn from this offseason with the lockout?
BD: Being able to keep things in balance. As tough as it was going through the lockout, I had to balance in order to not let the meetings get me so far down that I wasn’t able to communicate with any of the guys on what we needed to do going forward.
For me to be able to have an even keel and communicate with the guys in the locker room and answer questions, I had to have a lot of patience so this offseason taught me a lot about patience as well.
SG: You have played many years in the league. What would you like your legacy to be?
BD: Id like to be remembered as someone who will give 110% on the football field. To give every ounce of him whether it was emotionally, physically, cheerleader, whatever the team needed that day that I was going to be that guy. Off the field, I want to be remembered as someone who always got to work on time and was a professional about his job.
At 38 and with sixteen seasons under his belt, Dawkins is said to be contemplating retirement. If that is indeed true, his last game will be playing in the Pro Bowl. The perfect ending to his Hall of Fame career.
Scottie Graham and Gary Wang contributed to this report.
