Asante: "You make your bed ... deal with it"
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Asante: "You make your bed ... deal with it"
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
Asante Samuel said that he expects to be greeted warmly when he returns to Lincoln Financial Field as a member of the Falcons on Sunday.
"They better cheer for me," Samuel said to reporters in Atlanta. "They're going to cheer for me or we're going to have a problem right there in Lincoln Financial [Field]. All you all fans, all I did for you all, you all better cheer for me. Deuce here. Got nothing but love for you all."
Samuel returns with the undefeated Falcons. It was pointed out to the cornerback during a four-minute interview the struggles the 3-3 Eagles have had on defense this season.
"It’s kind of hard when 22 ain't there," Samuel said, referring to his jersey number. "Twenty-two keep things going for you. You just to deal with it. You make you bed. You got to deal with it.”
Samuel, of course, is referring to the Eagles' decision to trade him to Atlanta in April. The Eagles received only a seventh-round draft pick in return for the four-time Pro Bowler. Andy Reid said at the time of the deal that the Eagles made an effort to trade Samuel to a team of his choosing.
“Like I said in the beginning, it was a joint thing," Samuel said. "It was something we all had to agree on together. We had other choices that I was not going to pick. Atlanta was a place I wanted to come. They tried to not let me come to Atlanta, but we got it done."
Still, Samuel appears to harbor bitter feelings over the trade. When reports of Juan Castillo's firing surfaced last Tuesday, Samuel tweeted the following, interpreted by many to be about Reid:
"Sometimes you have to blame yourself. You can't try and always point the figure at someone else."
Samuel was asked about the tweet on Thursday.
“You all assumed that was about Andy," Samuel said. "I didn’t say this is for Andy. I just make a quote and then another quote and everybody said that was for Andy. You all did that."
Samuel, who played under Castillo for one season, was asked for his opinion of the firing.
"Juan’s my guy. Shout out to you, Juan," Samuel said. "He had the 12th defense in the league. Doing a good job as I could see. It’s just unfortunate he had to resign from his job or whatever."
Samuel, with typical bravado, took questions at his locker stall with his helmet on. He acknowledged that this was a big week and that Sunday's game was not just any game because Philadelphia "was like my home."
"It’ll be exciting, you know? They’ll be happy to see me," Samuel said of his teammates.
It remains to be seen if Michael Vick will be happy to see one of the NFL's top interception men. Samuel has 46 career interceptions, 23 coming while with the Eagles. He has one interception this season, one he took back 79 yards for a touchdown against the Raiders.
"I never really got to play against" Vick, Samuel said. "Every time I had to play against his team he was always hurt or something. I know he’s an explosive player. I know he’s an competitor, so it’s time to compete."
hope the eagles win sorry asante you are no longer in the midnight green you no longer have my support. im a fan of my eagles not the players. players come and go. if i were there i would boo him. now if he retires and decides he wants to retire and eagle which he wouldnt he would retire with his super bowl winning team the patriots but if he did then he would get applause. he is not retiring just yet and it wont be with the eagles so why the hell wouldnt you boo him. trust he is not loyal to philly fans.— defroe- He's another "Me, Me, Me" player who fits in well with a number of players on the Eagles of the same mentality. Reid and management seem to like those kind of guys -- rather than team players.— Ron T
- B-Dawk you ain't Samuel (to use a contraction you'll appreciate) -- I'll be there and I will be booing you, you fool. Eagles fans owe you nothing. Though, due to Vick's stupidity, I'll likely be booing you for a pick six at some point.
- Lots of bubble screens in Asante's direction. Make him tackle in the open field.— SteveS11
- Philly doesnt like arrogant? Philly is the epitome of arrogant.. Fans dont have any beef with Samuels. He was a great player on a bad defense. Good for him for escaping.— Zeru
- when asante was growing up they moved aound alot. when he got his first pro contract he bought his mom a house so his family had a place to call home. he was raised right and played hard every sunday. those are virtues all philadelphians can appreciate. he deserves a standing "o" just for that alone.— ojc
- CG25-You always pull for your team to win, I don't care what Andy's record is. If your are an Eagles fan, you cheer for the Eagles, PERIOD....— Philliefan75inAZ
- I can say the same thing to you because it applies to you as much as it does me. You should always root for your team Philliesfan75. Always. Also reading is fundamental.
- What a jerk.
Asante couldn't tackle a corpse!
The guy avoided contact like the plague.— eyesell - Yes, Asante got some picks, but he also free-lanced a lot, didn't tackle and there's a reason Bill Belichick let him leave (he makes the pick that went through his hands the play before the helmet catch, no one ever knows who David Tyree is). Overrated and can't play within a system.— mikeytrapp
- Two strategies...run at him with a big guard,. No,we don't have one. Well run at him with a big fullback. No..we don't have one. Well...run his way.....no, Marty doesn't run. Well...in that case let's pretend to run at Asante...maybe he'll be scared. Had we thought about getting him back to play in Watkins position?— 5thstrretpast
- why acquire soft players? Andy's "D" can't tackle and he's never found a quality quarterback. asante is soft. who cares what he thinks.
— goofyfooterwill - I think Assante was honestly talking about the D, not Reid, with his tweet. Asomugha was the straw that ultimately cost Castillo his job with his ridiculous public outcry against his coach's plan.— Pattycakes
