Denver, of course, is Sunday's Eagles opponent. The return of Dawkins, and running back Correll Buckhalter, is a matchup circled in red ink by every faithful Eagles fan after one of the most popular Eagles ever flew off to Colorado for a guaranteed $7.2 million rather than accept an offer of about $3 million from the Birds.
Reactions were swift and severe when a man long considered to be the Eagles' heart signed with the Broncos last February. Fans were outraged. Team president Joe Banner launched an extended propaganda blitz, spending some real quality time with some of the area's lighter-hitting media types.
Both the reaction and the spin were relentless for weeks after. And when the Eagles stumbled and lost winnable games early in the season, and the Broncos unexpectedly ran off six straight victories to start the season - well, Marilyn Monroe may not have been missed this much.
Through it all, Reid blocked well, said all the right things, kept his emotions - and questions about them - in check. Yesterday, a day after a playoff-clinching win, Reid dropped his guard, if just a bit, when asked about what is likely to be a memorable Sunday at the Linc.
"I think it will be neat for him to come back here,'' Reid said. "I think the crowd will be great for him and all of that . . . I always say that when you are a kid and you get into a fight with your brother, for about a second there it's about the most vicious fight you've ever been in. And then you love each other up afterwards.
"That's what this will be. This will be a dogfight out there and then there will be respect afterwards.''
