Eagles cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha hasn't had a great couple of years.
When he left the Raiders, he was considered to be the second-best corner in the league behind Darrelle Revis, and as a result, Philadelphia bestowed upon him a five-year deal worth $60 million ($25 million of that was guaranteed). And just as quickly, Asomugha has sunk into mediocrity -- or worse.
A CSN Philly report earlier this month opined that there was a good chance Asomugha and his $15 million base salary for 2013 would be released before the season, and when asked about him Thursday at the NFL combine, new Philadelphia coach Chip Kelly had this to say.
"I think Nnamdi has the skills to be ... a football player."
In a word: ouch. In another (hyphenated) word: uh-oh.
But Kelly makes a good point. If you've watched Asomugha play since he joined the team before the 2011 season, you can see that he either was vastly overrated in Oakland or that his skill level has turned 180 degrees in the wrong direction.
Here's what Pro Football Focus' Sam Monson thinks. (check the link)
3. "wasnt a major part of Nnamdi's FA decision based on his acting career" In response to Reply # 0
people hate to admit it but some guys get that big contract and the fire stops burning, plain and simple... other interests, getting older, playing on a shitty team, etc. Just losing 10% of that offseason passion, or passion to come up and hit an rb in run support and you drop drastically
7. "You could lose both of them..." In response to Reply # 6
>but they better figure out what they're doing quickly, >because if you cut Nnamdi than you gotta keep DRC and he's a >free agent.
That secondary was historically terrible last season. Some of that might've been scheme, but some of it definitely was those guys not being who we thought they were.
10. "is there even two starter-level corners available at this point?" In response to Reply # 7
and yeah, you're right on last year....don't remind me.
And also don't mind me, either. I was the dude who couldn't figure out that 'Dream Team' offseason how all the sudden our only major free-agent pickup of the Reid era that worked out (Assante) was suddenly expendable garbage for two guys most Philly fans hadn't seen play.
20. "eh...I'm pretty certain a lot of those people were non-Eagles fans" In response to Reply # 16
too. I really don't remember a lot of us Eagles fans on here (at least not me for certain) who claimed Nnamdi as the undisputed best CB in the league. I know it's a sport for yall to shit on us Eagles fans, but the reality is that the majority of OKSports overhyped Nnamdi to unwarranted levels. And lets be real, if Nnamdi went to Dallas, the Cowboys fans would have reacted the exact same way.
I'm not gonna lie, I was excited when we signed him. I did, however, think it was a waste of resources though because I felt we desperately needed an upgrade at the safety/linebacker position. At the time, I wanted the Eagles to get a cheaper (and now better)but reliable option in Johnathon Joseph. Turns out Joseph would have been the much more productive signing.
The Nnamdi revisionism is funny though. Folks wanna point and laugh at Eagles fans for how the signing blew up in our faces. Yet, yall know damn well that he was the most sought after free agent that offseason. He had a reputation that far exceeded his on field production long before he became an Eagle.
21. "He's being perfectly honest. Not sure how anyone can look at" In response to Reply # 0
the film and come away with a positive assessment of his performance this past year. He was arguably one of the worst starting CBs in the entire league. He routinely got burned. To make matters worse, he was exceedingly soft in run support. Rumors have it that he was also a cancer/bad influence on the team. Wouldn't surprise me if true. Go back watch the film. Every single time he got burnt in coverage he turned around right away and looked for someone to point the finger at. You could tell that he never owned up to his own ineptitude and basically tried to dump all the blame on the younger more inexperienced DBs. Week after week he got torched and put no effort whatsoever in helping out on D.
He might be an amazing guy off the field. That's cool. Good for him. But on the field? Plays with no hustle or effort. Chip Kelly's comments are perfectly fine with me. Sure, he's got plenty of talent. But he sure as shit hasn't used it as an Eagle yet.
Hopefully Chip says the same things about DRC. DRC may have been okay in coverage, but his run support made Assante Samuel look like Mike Singletary. That's saying something. And it wasn't even his poor tackling effort, it was lack of hustle to get to the ball carrier. Numerous times he was spotted on camera basically slow jogging/walking to the ball carrier and simply putting his arms out as if it was flag football. Nothing pisses me off more than DBs who are afriad to hit. I'm not as mad about DRC though.
It's truly mind-boggling to me that neither DRC or Nnamdi weren't benched for a considerable amount of time this past season.
29. "because this non-covering GHOST was as critical to the losses " In response to Reply # 28
as anyone else... Vick had a number of games where he overcame the turnovers only to see the defense (particularly the secondary) piss away the lead in the 4th quarter
Nnamdi Asomugha ate lunch in his car during practices instead of eating with his teammates last season, WIP Radio in Philadelphia reported Tuesday.
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WIP Radio's Hollis Thomas, who played for the Eagles from 1996-2005, reported the information, citing unnamed sources, who told Thomas that Asomugha chose to eat in his car in order to secure some "me time" during the season.
The Eagles have asked Asomugha to restructure his contract or they will release him, league sources have told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.
The two sides met Friday in Indianapolis at the NFL scouting combine. Asomugha, 31, is scheduled to make $15 million in 2013, $4 million of which is guaranteed.
A three-time Pro Bowler with the Raiders from 2003-10, Asomugha has been a major disappointment with the Eagles since signing a five-year, $60 million contract in 2011.
Philadelphia thought it was assembling an all-star team that would compete for the Super Bowl, but the Eagles finished 8-8 in 2011 and 4-12 last season, leading to the firing of longtime coach Andy Reid.
Defensive tackle Cullen Jenkins, another member of the Eagles' 2011 free-agent class, was released Monday.
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