Dawk Loves Him Some Billy Mac

[PhillyPhreak54]

Reuben Frank

"I saw a guy who's fluid, a guy who really understands the offense now, a guy who was catching the football real well," Dawkins said. "I sat down with Billy and we had a lot of talks. He has ability. He can play. The only thing holding him back from doing what he can do is confidence. And that's what I saw from him in Arizona — and at the minicamps and here the past week. A more confident guy."

Dawkins has played in four Pro Bowls and is considered one of the best safeties in pro football. Maybe the best. And he's been around long enough to know there's no pre-determined schedule for becoming a meaningful contributor.

So even though all McMullen has to show for his first two seasons is four catches for 26 yards, Dawkins hasn't given up on him.

"From what I've seen, I don't think there's any reason he can't have a big year," Dawkins said. "He's a long strider, he's cut to death, he's big, he's a hard worker. And you can see how much more confident he is. And confidence does so much for you."

"I'm feeling very confident with where I fit in in the offense," he said after Saturday's engaging and physical two-hour morning practice. "I feel so bad for Todd, but somebody has to make plays. It's time to do your thing."

"I know the last two years were disappointing to him," Dawkins said. "Not getting on the field and not showing what he can do, that's tough. In college, you're confident because you're the man. Once you come to the NFL and you start making mistakes, you lose that confidence.

"I remember my rookie year. I couldn't catch a cold. I don't know how many interceptions I dropped. You start thinking, 'I can't make those plays.' How are you going to succeed at this level if you're thinking that way? You can't. But when you're confident, it means everything. When you're confident, it lets your ability shine through and that's what we're starting to see with Billy."

"It was frustrating, but it was also a learning experience," he said. "It's coming together now. I feel real comfortable with the offense now and I feel real comfortable with where I fit in."

McMullen overcame two early drops to make several crowd-pleasing catches Saturday and even showed a new ability to adjust a route, twisting his body around to the left and securing an underthrown Koy Detmer pass with Matt Ware in coverage.

His best moment came when he got a step on corner Dexter Wynn running straight down the middle of the field and lunged forward to reel in a slightly overthrown McNabb pass for a 42-yard gain.

He also got booed after dropping a short pass from Detmer when he was about to get leveled by Dawkins during full-contact work.

"These are great fans," McMullen said. "They're always on you and they're always with you."

If McMullen can just give the Eagles something, anything, it will be a huge help.

"He needs to keep working on consistency," head coach Andy Reid said. "He's had a good camp so far."

[PhillyPhreak54]

As you all know, I am rooting for him. I wasn't pleased with what I saw on Wed. and Thurs., but I'm hoping that the light will come on. I like what Dawk says about him and I like the fact that Dawk is showing confidence in him.

You can't teach height or strength and Billy has that. He could be a real good receiver, if only he could get everything together.

I hope he has a monster pre-season...that'll help his confidence.

[Susquehanna Birder]

The only thing holding him back from doing what he can do is confidence.

Translation: Once he starts catching the easy ones, he should be okay.   

[ice grillin you]

imo mcmullen was a cut before pinky went down

that said dawk is the man for even trying to tutor that train wreck

[mussa]

hes got the build to be a top receiver, but not the balls, yet.  Ive about given up on him, but after Dawkins speal...I'll give him another year, especially this year with pinky going down. I know Dawk is sugar coating him to get his confidence up, but thats what good teamates do. 

[PhillyandBCEagles]

FWIW, I thought B-Mac looked great in TC last year too.

[PhillyGirl]

FWIW, I thought B-Mac looked great in TC last year too.

Every account of him had him dropping far too many passes.

[Eaglez]

I highly doubted that McMullen was going to be cut this year. He's a 3rd round pick and Andy Reid has shown to be extremely patient with his WR's. He was not going to be cut, but he probably was going to not see considerable time on the field.

Now he is going to have a chance to fight for playing time. His size is amazing. If he could just use his size effectively he could be a very productive slot reciever working the middle the field. Sort of like a faster TE in the middle. He will provide a great target for D-Mac on crucial third down plays.

Owens at #1, Greg Lew burning people on deep routes and Billy Mac workin in the middle and getting tough yards for first downs. I like that recieving combination if Billy Mac can gain a ton of confidence in the preseason and translate that into the productivity during the regular season.

Here is all the best to Billy Mac. I'm going to be rooting for him extra hard this preseason. I really want him to pull through because he has the potential to be a great weapon for the offense, and his services are especially needed with the lessened depth at the WR position.

[Don Ho]

FWIW, I thought B-Mac looked great in TC last year too.

Every account of him had him dropping far too many passes.

That's what i remember as well.  Seems like every time we hear about him it's the same thing - great build, physilcal,excelled at UVA, made some great catches BUT dropped just as many.

[PhillyandBCEagles]

FWIW, I thought B-Mac looked great in TC last year too.

Every account of him had him dropping far too many passes.

Well I only made it up 2 days...he was good on those 2 days 

[QB Eagles]

FWIW, I thought B-Mac looked great in TC last year too.

Every account of him had him dropping far too many passes.

He dropped a lot in 2003. Last year, McMullen caught just about everything thrown at him in camp, but had a lot of bobbles. The consensus was that he was much improved, but once he got into some preseason games the bobbles turned into drops.

[WEST is GOD]

I love his size, but like everyone is saying, his problem is his hands. You can have all the size, and speed, and crisp fluid movement in the world, but if you can't hang onto the ball then you won't amount to anything. It seems that is his only problem at this point. We aren't sure yet if he just has bad hands or it is his nerves. A lot of hand issues have to do with focus. Plenty of dropped balls are the cause of looking up field before you secure the football, bad technique in catching the ball, and focusing in on defenders more than the football itself.

The funny thing is his body is just like TO's. Not as toned, but he's a big dude.

[jeffreyjpa]

If anyone heard Ray Didinger and Glen Macnow's show on Saturday afternoon, R Diddy said pretty much the same things that Dawk said about Billy in this article. He said he was high on Billy coming out of UVA based on his size and his college production, but had a rough start in transitioning to the NFL and has had confidence issues ever since.

Based on what Billy accomplished at UVA, R Diddy still thinks he can be a good NFL player if they can help him restore his confidence. Having Dawk in his corner can't do anything but help.

[Wingspan]

in the 2 games that the eagles threw away last season, McMullen had 3 catched for about 24 yards. bringing his 2 season total to 4 catches 26 yards.

translation: he stinks.

[Susquehanna Birder]

The guy can make some tough catches...it's the easy ones that he has problems with.