It was Week 2 of the 2005 NFL season. I was a rough-around-the-edges cub reporter for Main Line Life newspaper, mostly covering high school sports – Lower Merion basketball for life – but somehow I got a rare credential request approved by the Philadelphia Eagles.
My nerves were dipping into the red, inching up to crazed Labubu levels, as I entered the locker room at the NovaCare Complex for the first time. My assignment that day was to interview former Eagles linebacker Mike Labinjo – yes, the Canadian football player who died under suspicious circumstances in 2018 – for a story highlighting what it was like for a professional athlete making his first career start which he had done, literally on the fly, the week prior when Jeremiah Trotter was ejected during pre-game warmups.
Looking back on it, the angle was a stretch. I was trying to compare his experience with that of a student-athlete at Conestoga High School. Whatever. I was very young and overly ambitious, maybe too naive and stubbornly stupid. Take your pick. Anyway, what remains stitched in my brain like Pro-Twill was Terrell Owens running around the locker room like a boy in gym class.
The future Hall of Famer was stealing towels from teammates, playfully slapping fellow wide receiver Greg Lewis on the butt and generally being a prankster. Remember, this was shortly after Owens’ criticism of Donovan McNabb and his infamous driveway sit-up spectacle, so tempers were hot. Everyone was on edge. No one felt comfortable.
To me, it was a freakishly funny scene, a chimeric dream of sorts. Boys being boys. Catch me if you can. Later, I learned that Owens’ daily shenanigans weren’t appreciated. He was a maestro of chaos whom legendary play-by-play announcer Merrill Reese called out for tearing that Super Bowl team apart. Okay, okay, okay … get to the point.
A.J. Brown is not that guy. On the field, sure, well hopefully … just not yet. Owens was a super hero. In fact, you can make a legit argument that Terrell Eldorado Owens was the greatest wide receiver of all time. He was unstoppable … and he knew it.
That’s what really pissed people off. He would fight off a jam or double team, then speed off into the ether in mere seconds – jawing and showboating the whole time. Owens would be eating popcorn in the end zone while everyone else was waiting for the snap.
Brown has many of those same intangibles … and he knows it, too. The difference is, Brown isn’t purposefully trying to be a troublemaker. Yes, he wants the ball. Yes, he likes to talk trash. A lot. Maybe too much. Throw me the f***in’ ball. However, Brown’s outbursts and tantrums, albeit cringe at times, appear to be veiled in good intention.
“Give it to me. When the game’s on the line, give the ball to me,” Brown told reporters on October 1. “I want that pressure, I put it on myself, and I work hard for it.”
Okay, those are the words you want to hear from a top playmaker and team captain. He is that dude – the same guy who takes immense pride in doing things his way and only his way.
Take his hot chocolate delivery service. In the video, Brown flashes sincere joy at helping a young fan stay warm. It wasn’t staged or forced, although there is a good chance the Eagles receiver knew the viral moment would end up on HBO’s Hard Knocks. Good for him.
Let’s not forget his charity work through the AJ Brown Foundation. He personally showed up at an ACME to hand out gift cards and buy groceries for hungry fans, then launched a holiday giveaway that delivered brand new bikes to kids in need. He’s out there in the community making memories off the field even if the chemistry isn’t there with Jalen Hurts right now.
Look, I get it. The extra-curricular stuff is nice, akin to the barista at Starbucks not charging you for the extra shot of syrup in your Peppermint Mocha. I’m not going to excuse his inability to keep his mouth or his Twitter fingers in check. It has been an exhausting year after all.
Brown’s strained relationship with Hurts, real or perceived, cannot be overstated. It’s palpable, no matter if you are sitting in a Barcalounger or in the press box. Just rewatch the tape of that missed deep ball two weeks ago against the Chargers – perhaps Hurts overthrew it a bit down the sideline, so stretch out and bring it in. The ball was there, lobbed in range, on the very first play from scrimmage.
Then, there was the overtime drop in the end zone that sailed through his hands. That one was inexcusable since it was the game-winning touchdown. Afterward, to his credit, Brown didn’t shy away from blame. Quite the opposite.
“I could go out there and drop a hundred balls, I’m still going to believe in me,” Brown told reporters on December 9. “Believe in my hands. I believe I have the best hands in the world. Sometimes it don’t go your way. That’s a part of it. You have to have thick skin and go back to work and do my same routine every single day, catching those balls.”
Brown will get an opportunity to back those words up on Saturday night. He’s 160 yards away from another 1,000-yard season, which would be his sixth 1,000-yard season in seven NFL seasons. There’s a good chance he does it this week against the lowly Commanders.
I wouldn’t be shocked. Most Eagles fans probably wouldn’t be stunned. He’s already in the conversation for greatest receiver in franchise history. But, here’s sage advice from a longtime reporter – don’t ever, ever, ever talk about how great your hands are in Philadelphia.
