Cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha has had plenty of battles against Miami wide receiver Brandon Marshall over the years when Asomugha was with the Raiders and Marshall was with the Broncos.
"Brandon Marshall and I have battled a lot back from when we were both in the AFC West," Asomugha said on Friday. "I would just follow him around on the field. He represents a big challenge. I've faired pretty well against him, but he's very tough to cover. He likes to grab and pull at the line and they never call it. Physicality is his thing, similar to Larry Fitzgerald and Andre Johnson. Whenever you have a big guy like that who still has speed and all that stuff, it's a big challenge."
The 6-2, 210-pound Asomugha and the 6-4, 230-pound Marshall have squared off five times. In those contests, Marshall has never posted a 100-yard game, but has scored two touchdowns - both were in 2009. Asomugha did not give up both of those scores because, according to Stats Inc., he only allowed one touchdown the entire season.
It remains to be seen how the Eagles will defend Marshall this Sunday. Marshall had three straight 100-catch seasons (from 2007-09) and has a streak of four-straight 1,000-yard seasons that is about to extend to five. Marshall has 63 catches for 910 yards and three scores in 2011. But stopping Marshall is not the only concern on the Dolphins offense.
"It's not all about shutting down Brandon Marshall," Asomugha said. "(Matt) Moore has been making plays with his feet as well as his arm. They've got some good receivers in the slot, (Davone) Bess, and also a good running back in Reggie Bush."
Asomugha joined the Eagles this past offseason after eight seasons in Oakland. One of the reasons that he came to Philadelphia was the winning program that the franchise has established. Certainly, the season hasn't gone as expected, but Asomugha said there is a buzz in the locker room about what the team can accomplish in the final four weeks of the season.
"We're staying positive. We're at a point where there's a lot of excitement for these last four weeks, the players and the coaches feel that way. We don't know what will happen, but we know what can happen," Asomugha said. "If we can get it right now, it would erase what happened the rest of the season. Next year we're going to be much better than we were this season. There'll be a lot more time to put the pieces together and figure everything out."
But Asomugha quickly noted that he doesn't want to worry about next season yet. There is still a glimmer of hope for 2011 and Asomugha wants to seize that as long as he can.
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