A case for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
The highest profile unrestricted free agent on the Eagles is Dominqiue Rodgers-Cromartie. The Eagles did not use the franchise tag on Rodgers-Cromartie, and there's a wideheld perception that the team will move on from Rodgers-Cromartie.
A case for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
Zach Berman, Inquirer Staff Writer
The top free agent on the Eagles is Dominqiue Rodgers-Cromartie. The Eagles did not use the franchise tag on Rodgers-Cromartie, and there's a wideheld perception that the team will move on from Rodgers-Cromartie. If that's the case, few will question the decision. Rodgers-Cromartie has been wildly inconsistent in his two seasons in Philadelphia, and as part of the high-profile acquisitions of 2011, he's one of the faces of the team's recent struggles.
But consider the very nature of free agency. It's rare that an elite player hits the market. In most cases, a free agent has some type of shortcoming that prompts a change in teams (production, system fit, age, money, etc.) -- and his current team is willing to live without him for a different player at a different price.
While there are solid cornerbacks on the market -- Sean Smith and Aqib Talib will be two of the top targets -- there is no unquestioned Pro Bowl-caliber player. And frankly, the last time one hit the market at that position (Nnamdi Asomugha), it did not work out so well.
With that said, it's worth reconsidering Rodgers-Cromartie. There will undoubtedly be a market for him. He's 6-foot-2 and 182 pounds with top-end speed that included a 4.33 40-yard dash at the 2008 NFL Scouting Combine. In terms of size/speed, it's hard to find many players who fit the prototype better than Rodgers-Cromartie.
Then look at production. He was a Pro Bowler in 2009 who has 16 career interceptions, including four touchdowns. He only had three interceptions during his two seasons with the Eagles, and two came in the same game (Sept. 9), which should be a concern. But there's also film of demonstrated production.
That's where the inconsistency comes into play. Depending upon which game one watches, you can see a prototype Pro Bowl cornerback, or a head-scratching underachiever. Of course, the same could be said other players on the market.
Then look at age. Rodgers-Cromartie will be 27 next season. That's a fertle age for a football player, right amid his prime. You can sign him to a four or five year deal, and get three strong years out of him. He has only missed three games in his career, so he does not have an injury history that raises an alarm. He enjoys Philadelphia and the Eagles organization, which is another plus.
The key for the team is to determine whether the past two seasons was an indication of the type of player Rodgers-Cromartie truly is, or whether that potential can still be maximized. He has warts, no doubts, but so do the other cornerbacks on the market. If he's going to flash his potential for a few games each season and struggle during the other games, that's not worth the price tag. But if the whole package can come together, then it is.
The Eagles can move on him from him and aggressively pursue Smith or Talib or Keenan Lewis or Derek Cox or Antoine Cason, but it's entirely conceivable that Rodgers-Cromartie can become the best cornerback from this class. In that respect, it's worth determining whether a new coaching staff and scheme -- a fresh start without a new address -- can benefit him. In fact, Rodgers-Cromartie's defensive coordinator during his Pro Bowl was Bill Davis, who is now the Eagles defensive coordinator. Perhaps Davis can maximize Rodgers-Cromartie's talent and find a way to rediscover that 2009 form.
When I was discussing Rodgers-Cromartie with the other cornerbacks on the Eagles roster, one thing Brandon Hughes told me really stuck out:
"He can be a Hall of Famer. I tell him that every day," Hughes said. "You don't get too many guys that can cut, break, quick as a cat, with ball skills. He can press you, he can play off. . . . He really doesn't lack a skill that you need to be successful at corner."
Those skills are not always applied, which is the trickiest issue. But someone who has those skills will be in demand.Maybe another team offers a Rodgers-Cromartie a deal that is too rich for the Eagles, or maybe the Eagles simply want to move on. Both would make sense. But if Rodgers-Cromartie fulfills his potential elsewhere, the Eagles will be left wondering what might have been.
So the Eagles believe they have to choose to keep either DRC OR Nnamdi. I vote neither, but they may believe they have to turn over too many other players & feel they should keep one.
Their choice is between a talented, too-occasionally disinterested younger player or a talented, too-occasionally disinterested older player.
DRC got his Pro Bowl invitation with Davis, but it was intersting to see Davis wasn't so hot to keep him. Keep DRC, but NOT if it involves a bidding war.— yobill626- Draft Dee Millner and the other corner spot won't be so important. A solid FA is all it will take. Dee has all of the skills speed & work ethic. Draft him and the other team's #1 receiver is covered for years to come.
- based on last year they both deserve to go but based on other needs we do not have that luxury. — dfc1234567
- Resign DRC, and bring back Nnamdi at a lower price. Focus attention on getting safeties! With proper help over the top, the corners will be perfectly fine.— macd41144
- when a cornerback pretends to not be able to fight off a block just so he can avoid making a tackle, he isnt capable of being an eagle.
case closed.
adios drc.— bloodymess - I second your motion to dismiss. Nnamdi and DRC's avoidance of tackling was disgusting. No team should want players like that. — fammarlin
- Unless you want Curtis Marsh and Brandon Hughes as your starting CB tandem, you need to keep DRC. Then draft Dee Milliner with the #4 pick. This draft has 6 offensive tackles who can start day 1. No need to go after Joeckel or Fisher with the Eagles' top pick. Lane Johnson in the 2nd round or Terron Armstead (4.7/40, 31 bench reps)in the 3rd.— EmanuelP
- the problem that i have with that is that we still don't have a QB. use #4 for CB, we will have the turnover machine at QB until the inevitable broken ribs...QB comes first — dfc1234567
- News flash: we aren't winning the Super Bowl this year. This is a rebuilding year. And nothing needs more rebuilding than the defense. Better QBs for Chip's offense coming out next year.
— EmanuelP - I don't think DRC is an elite player. Once in a while he plays like one, but usually he's mediocre. The main point is that DRC is not fulfilling his potential HERE, for reasons that have nothing to do with the Eagles. If he can do it elsewhere, fine. The Eagles would be much better off signing someone with a better attitude.— p-diddy
- I'm still puzzled as to why the Eagles hired Billy Davis as the d-coordinator. If Reid had made that move, people would be up in arms.— p-diddy
- p-diddy-At least Kelly hired an actual d-coordinator.— eaglesondefense
- I went to high school with Bill Davis.
That dude is football 24x7x365 even when he was 17.— 1000hugs - That doesn't make him a great defensive coordinator.
I am sex 24x7x365 especially when I was 17. Doesn't make me Warren Beatty.— kavorca - Seen enough of DRC and Non-d Dumpty...Marsh or Hughes can make the same mistakes at a lower price.— tpizza
- The case against DRC: He doesnt give a .... about effort— peteike
- I'd keep him. He's the best available CB available. CB are in high demand and tough to come by. The past two seasons, the Eagles were terrible for lots of reasons and some had to do with circumstances out of the team's control. It's not possible that every player on a team that football people thought had a lot of talent all can't play. Find the talent and keep it. I have no interest in watching 5 years of losing.— MikeP
- Let's face facts... the Eagles aren't winning a Super Bowl anytime soon. Their defense is a long way away from being Super Bowl caliber and Chip Kelly will install a gimmick offense that will product constent three and outs. This organization needs to learn from their mistakes and build through the draft and develop talent organically. So what if we have to go through a couple losing seasons? It will be worth if your eye is on the prize.— bdd5014
- Hughes tells DRC that he can be a future HOF...Zach heard that and ran to his comupter, like the kid in Willy Wonka with a golden ticket, so that he could make up an article to throw that in...— Friend to All
- The cherry on top for me was when he took a swipe at the ball at the 2 yard line in a game instead of lowering his head and tackling...I remember Gruden just ripping him for that... Forget what game it was...— elfman
- Dee Milner at 4 would be a big mistake. He's got more warts than DRC.— TrollXterminator
- Add by subtracting.. Nmandi and DRC. Two head cases. Let DRC underachieve for another team. The Eagles aren't going anywhere and, in reality, would they have been much worse off with a rookie at CB ?— sfofan
The case for keeping DRC or Nnamdi is simple. If they're better than anything else you've got or KNOW you can get, keep. As soon as you have a definite plan to get a better player, jettison immediately and move on.— oldfriar- This article sums up my thoughts pretty well on the CB situation. The whole team pretty much quit last year, I mean really they were a few bounces from 0-16, the defense was outmatched on a weekly basis like any defense would with no distinct scheme, little talent and a musical chairs coordinator. I could see DRC having a nice rebound year under Davis, whom he already played for at a Pro Bowl level.
As to the rest of the secondary, I could see them keeping Colt Anderson for special teams and letting Nate Allen compete. Other than that, everyone else is fair game. No idea if they drafted Hughes or Marsh as potential starters someday, but if they're not in that conversation, then move on. Regarding Nnamdi, show me a team that keeps bad players at bad cap numbers just to avoid paying less in guaranteed money and and I'll show you a losing team. The Eagles have more than enough cap room to eat his $4 mil, sign DRC, and still attack free agency.
The top 4 picks of the draft they need to get a corner, a safety, as well as a linebacker and nose tackle who fit the 3-4 mold. That's regardless of what they do in free agency - What case for? The defense overall was a bad joke but he pleyed like a girl in it, too. Since they didn't use the franchise tag, have to think he's a goner.— PhillySubsMac
- DRC - elite physical skill set. Questionable attitude.
I would rather have a player not as skilled but whose head is in the game CONSISTENTLY. Who WANTS TO PLAY and is willing to do whatever is necessary to win ... including TACKLE.
It is disgusting to watch a player dog it. Goodbye to DRC.— FishFryFrank - But seriously, I'd like to see one of the better FA CBs, say Grimes or even Smith, PLUS one of the better FA Safeties, say Quin or Goldson, providing you don't have to totally break the bank for them. That would open up the draft completely for the likes of Star, Jordan, whoever that prime pick at 4 is, plus hopefully a player or two that can compete to start in the next couple of rounds.— oldfriar
- As with the Vick re-signing, Chip is looking at all the holes in the roster from the disastrous Reid regime of the last 5 years & plotting ways to shore up the team for both the short-term and long-term so we might have to live with a few of these leftovers for another year or two....let's face it....we are in rebuild mode...can't do it all in 1 year...— WhiteBear
- Right on. No way this is a one year fix. But a lot of good can happen in year one if these coaches are as smart and cohesive as they seem when they've been interviewed. Mostly it's Kelly.. he did better than maybe anybody else could have with what he's had year in and out. Now he's in the big leagues.. can he help identify exceptional talent at this level? — oldfriar
- imo hughes did pretty well in that ny game when nonD was out for like 2 quarters. as soon as nonD came back in eli throws a TD... if i had to choose between one or the other id say get rid of the old man...— defroe
- An interesting question. But, as one comment pointed out, if all we get is mediocrity, why pay such a high price? It leads one to believe that you are paying for past honors rather than future rewards.— alwaysphil1
- so what matters most. innate talent or scheming and coaching. I always leaned heavily on talent until I watched the tapes of Chip Kelly's teams. No that they weren't talented. They were! But I couldn't help but notice that on many of their big play highlights, the wide receivers were all blocking aggressively and added 10 yards if not touchdowns to many plays. Will our guys do that? Kelly has been quoted in an interview with Nick Saban that a WR player won't get field time if he's not willing to block. I hope he stays true to that philosophy.— oldfriar
- Eagles' dream scenario is to re-structure Nnamdi's contract, which would make him tradeable. Then trade him for a 4th round pick, safety TJ McDonald from USC.
They MUST draft Dee Milliner with the #4 overall pick.
Don't get cute, Chip!
— EmanuelP - Deepest position in draft is....... CORNER!— fman727
- When you get abused by a wideout on an end around, you need to find another sport.— eaglescali
- Drc isn't a good football player. Hes soft a punk and i could tell w/ in the 1st few games i watched. He would jog behind plays and wait for someone else to try and make a tackle and act like he was trying to get in there. Not a couple times always.— eroc
- When you have "NO HEART", it doesn't matter what you run the 40 yd dash in or how tall you are! Both DRC and Non-D are somewhat talented, but they lack the will to give maximum effort on the field. In fact, I would say the last 2 games of the year, they flat out quit. Does a new Coach really want Quitters on this young roster? They're not going to change, so move on from these Jerks! Get Smith in FA and draft Millner with the 4th pick.— cooperhawk
- I say keep DRC. He wasn't head and shoulders better than non-D but at least he acted like he wanted to play defense! Unless we can get Dee Miliner or somebody like him, what would be so bad about keeping him? DEFINITELY unload that waste product called Non-D!— Panthro2011
- Huge risk giving this guy a signing bonus..I would pass— phillyceltic
- so basically keeping DRC is like telling your doctor you don't want that cancerous mole removed from your body...the guy is a locker room cancer who only cares about himself and being paid....get rid of him and Gumby and rebuild with guys who play as a team.— jto9191972
- DRC Stinks, goodbye, don't let the door hit you. Take Nnamdi with you— dannymoe
- macd,, where can one purchase such Kool Aid which would make one soooo delusional?? neither can cover OR tackle.— phillyroni
- Straight up trade for D Revis? Would the Jets do it?— johnny eagle
- RDC, NNamdi, Vick & the Fireman for Revis— dannymoe
- Lets's look at what you wrote Zach, Wildly inconsistant with the Eagles, a Pro Bowler back in 2009, only 3 interceptions while with the Eagles, and the recommendation for keeping him comes from Brandon Hughes. Put the money elsewhere, and rebuild. Don't need him nor his pink framed no glass, glasses.— watsonmr
- The more guys like Vick, DeSean, Namdi and DRC you keep, the more you foster the "we're superstars - just look what they pay for my promise" attitude. Young guys like Shady come in and become 'enlightened' to the fact that you've done all you can - yer in the NFL - enjoy the cash. This is how you get 8-8 from alleged profesionals. You can tolerate a jerk or two in a locker room; but you can't win with mostly jerks. (I'd use the more accurate work but would get censored off). DRC did flash here and there - more so than Namdi; but a near clean sweep really is needed here for Chipper to eventually take us to the promised land.— raoool
- Given a choice between Namdi and DRC, I would take DRC. That being said they have both played offensive football here. Namdi never lived up to his hype and DRC never lived up to his potential. Both of their pathetic tackling is unforgivable, on that alone we should let them both walk— yourdaddy!
- Here's my problem with DRC. He flat out quit and Kelly knows it. If there was anyone that wants him it should be Bill Davis, but he he obviously doesn't. Even though I'm not thrilled with Asomugha, I don't believe he quit. It can be argued that he lost a step, but part of that might be attributed to the constant confusion in the secondary. DRC on the other hand constantly took off plays and often acted like he could care less.— LasVegasScott
- I might add that if there is a better option, I don't want either one of them.— LasVegasScott
- Get rid of both. Both are locker room cancers. Their lack of effort is disgusting, and I'm pretty sure it crushes the morale of the entire team. Kelly needs to rebuild the culture of this team as his first priority.— chocolatethunder
- Both Cromartie and especially Asomugha were effective with their former teams because the people in front of them were hard hitters and effective tacklers.Whatever system you play under SOMEBODY has to tackle.— Ernie Garman
- you know what? just keep everybody. they obviously have a lot of talent on this team— Patriot72
- you know what? just keep everybody. they obviously have a lot of talent on this team— Patriot72
- you know what? just keep everybody. they obviously have a lot of talent on this team— Patriot72
- It's up to the coach. If he thinks DRC is a long-term guy in Philly, keep him. Don't keep him as a one-year bridge. If Marsh or Hughes man that position this year, and then are used as backups thereafter, they will be much better backups, able to play in Super Bowl, from that experience.
We are not going anywhere close to a Super Bowl this year. You don't sacrifice a team's future to try and get an additional meaningless win.— armchairGM - We all understand the man's talents, but will he use them? I think that question has now been answered with two teams. Maybe! You don't win a SB with maybe players.— Cactusjim
- HELL NO!! It should be fairly obvious DRC is the type of guy that will bust it on a good team and look like an all-pro, but on a bad team is a mutt that won't give max effort. Guess which category the Eagles fall into...— Only in Philly...
- He's not that good. There is definitely more talent on the Eagles roster of people who should be retained!! What is wrong with you people?
Signed,
Nnamdi A.— ricciaje - False. Next topic?— ghostofozark
- And here are two reasons DRC (short for Doesn't Really Care) should be gone: (1) the way he played on the field, and (2) the way he acted on and off of the field.— blank reg
- Sheldon Brown wasn't nearly as athletic but he was infinitely better.— @leegles
- DRC SUCKS! I said it when they got rid of Asante, and I'll say it again: I don't care how much natural talent you have. If you have no heart, then you will suck. Which is why DRC SUCKS! It's pretty simple, really. Get rid of him, and get rid of Nmandi. And Allen, and Coleman. Start over, man.— 5NOT4
- get rid of cromagnum. new regime & new attitudes need to prevail. he obviouly is slacking given all of his physical gifts.— bonnerlou
- Is this article the same as all the rest of the Eagles backfield articles.... Yup. Can't you guys find something else to write about? How about the other D-backs like Hendricks or others? In other words give it a break— stardog
- What we've seen with DRC the past two years is exactly what he's capable of: NOT MUCH. His skills have deteriorated. What he did at the 2008 Combine and the 2009 season are history. What you see now is what you get. Let him walk.— 1republican
