Four losses in NFC Championship games, three as favorites. The screwy ending to that one Super Bowl, the departure of heart-and-soul stars over contract terms - there have been times when sentiment leaned heavily the other way, toward boarding those two treasures onto the next Amtrak headed to Boston.
We have arrived at an uneasy peace these days, these men and their public, sharing the same hopes from an offseason of trades and signings and sexy draft picks, sobered collectively by the death of a beloved coach and the departure of a revered player.
And so Lurie started his news conference yesterday not only memorializing the late Jim Johnson, but introducing the touchy subject of Brian Dawkins before he could be asked.
"I just want to say as long as I own the team, nobody is going to wear number 20," he said.
That's not an official announcement, he would say later, and it's unclear whether an active player for one team can have his number retired by another. Lurie played offense on the subject, though, and it made him seem more Kirk than Spock.
Like when someone asked him whether it was hard to be at camp and not see Dawkins on the practice field.
"It's part of football," he said. "As an owner and as I'm sure anybody working with the players - you get very close to them. It's not like you're just observing them.
