In a passing-heavy NFL, the Eagles have what other teams crave: High-level talent and great depth at the cornerback positions.
Yet, there is a fine line between having enough talent and having too much talent, and that is a fine line the Eagles must explore in the offense. In the NBA, to draw a parallel, there is only one basketball, and having five superstars on the floor does not guarantee success when only one player can shoot at a time.
In the NFL, having three Pro Bowl-caliber cornerbacks does mean the opposing quarterback will never complete a pass.
We learned that last year, didn't we? After the Eagles traded for Rodgers-Cromartie and then signed Asomugha in free agency, many perhaps thought the pass defense would be impenetrable, and that the cornerbacks would drape receivers long enough to allow the pass rush to get home.
It didn't quite work out that way. The Eagles ranked 30th in the league in red-zone efficiency on defense, far too porous to contend for a Super Bowl. Oh, there was great progress as the season went along, but the early breakdowns and the missed assignments and mistakes made on the ball came back to haunt the Eagles.
Not until Rodgers-Cromartie suffered a sprained ankle and was sidelined, and the Eagles moved Hanson back into his customary slot corner position, did the pass defense gain some consistency. Then, in the final two games of the season, Rodgers-Cromartie was healthy enough to play for an injured Samuel at left cornerback, and the pass defense ended the year with terrific momentum.
What now? The Eagles have all three cornerbacks healthy. Asomugha and Rodgers-Cromartie have their first full offseason ahead of them as members of the team. A new secondary coach, Todd Bowles, is a no-nonsense, results-oriented leader who has built an impressive log from his time in Cleveland, Dallas and Miami.
How do the Eagles incorporate all of that talent -- their top four veterans, plus prospects Brandon Hughes and second-year man Curtis Marsh -- into a rotation that works for everyone?
Samuel, one of the most dynamic playmakers in the recent era of NFL cornerbacks, was asked by reporters about his hopes for 2012 during a Habitat For Humanity event in Philadelphia on Friday and Samuel expressed his hope to play for the Eagles in the season in front of us. It is a situation that everyone wonders about and watches, and I think it is not a slam dunk either way, any way, about what might happen.
One factor to consider is Samuel's salary-cap number, which is a reported $9.5 million for 2012. That's a high price to pay, but then again Samuel is as dangerous a thief at cornerback as the league has seen since, and we're talking on a year-in, year-out basis, since, well, maybe since Deion Sanders back in the day?
Another factor is that Rodgers-Cromartie enters the final year of his contract after the Eagles acquired him from Arizona last year in the Kevin Kolb trade. Rodgers-Cromartie is a rising talent who played very well in the wins over Dallas and Washington, and he stands to benefit tremendously from Bowles' tutelage.
Asomugha is here to stay and to take a step forward after his up-and-down, but mostly up, debut season as an Eagle. Asomugha missed a few tackles, misplayed a couple of passes, and didn't make the Pro Bowl, but he was solid and fundamental and versatile. Put him in press coverage all season and see him lock down receivers. That's a weapon most defenses just don't have.
Bowles, for his part, hasn't said much about the situation one week into the job. He held a series of interviews in the last few days and stopped short of commenting too much on his new players who he is just getting to learn more about. It is clear, though, that if you don't do it the way Bowles wants, you won't play. He is going to ask his cornerbacks to mix up their coverages and play both press and in off coverage. He is not going to be predictable. He is not going to give a lick about personal statistics and numbers, sacrificing all of that in place of a win for the Philadelphia Eagles.
"Winning," he says, "is what this is all about. I like to win."
The Eagles need to win, and to win they need to make the right decisions about their cornerback positions. Whatever that means, whomever they keep or decide to move, the choices have to be correct. It's a wonderful situation to be in with a lot of talent. Teams in this league search high and low for talent.
Managing the talent is another part of the puzzle altogether, something the Eagles need to consider strongly and intelligently in the coming weeks as free agency and hard decisions near.
