Nnamdi Asomugha’s Versatility Will Benefit Eagles

Nnamdi Asomugha’s first day of practice at Lehigh University was a success. Once he stepped onto the field, he was greeted by the Philly faithful in the form of a thundering roar of cheers.

Clearly, Asomugha is already a fan favorite, and deservingly so.

He’s one of the best corners in the game, and for a Philadelphia defense that struggled against high-powered passing attacks last season, his presence on the field is bound to greatly improve the unit

With three Pro-Bowl cornerbacks all in the same secondary, there’s going to be some confusion as to how to please everyone. But it’s a good problem to have, and Andy Reid, along with defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, have already discussed their plans for Asomugha and the star-studded secondary.

“It was day one really for that type of thing. Juan [Castillo] has a pretty good idea though what he’s going to do and how he’s going to use them. You saw that when we started the team period and blitzed, he came out with the three corner look. It gives you quite a bit of flexibility and all three are really good football players,” said Reid.

At first, Asomugha was seen lined up over the tight end in his first time out on the field today. The Eagles have allowed the opposing tight ends to get free in the middle of the field over the past couple of seasons, but with Asomugha showing that he is willing to take on that role, there won’t be too many tight ends breaking out for big games.

Simply put, Asomugha can, and will, play anywhere on the field.

“He played some inside in the nickel over dime situation, and then he played outside at the corner spot. He can do either-or and he wants to do that,” said Asomugha.

His team-first mentality is what makes him such a huge asset to the team. With Asante Samuel still on the team, and no deal in the foreseeable future, there will be three highly-talented cornerbacks all vying for playing time. Samuel is the least likely of the three to play in the slot, which means either Asomugha or Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie will have to take up the nickel spot.

Both players have already expressed their interest in playing the role for the benefit of the team.

But Asomugha is the best man-coverage cornerback in the game today, so I expect him, as he should be, to line up opposite Samuel.

“When he and I talked – he was in a system and listen, it’s been very successful for him at Oakland in a system where they play man coverage,” said Reid. “Al Davis loves man coverage. He recruits players there and drafts players that play man coverage and that guy was the best in the business at it.”

Covering the opposition’s number one option will be Asomugha’s main job, but because of his physicality, the Eagles can use him anywhere on the field and allow Rodgers-Cromartie to take the outside.

“But now [Asomugha]’s going to be exposed to all these different coverage’s and he welcomes that, that’s what he wants to do; and then, he wants to be moved around and put inside and do that. He’s expressed that to me when we talked,” said Reid.

With so many options in the secondary, Reid and Castillo will showcase a lot of different looks to the opposing quarterback, which will make it hard for the opposition to gauge this defense.