Rodgers-Cromartie explains sideline rant
The Philadelphia Inquirer Blog - Eagles
Rodgers-Cromartie explains sideline rant
Jonathan Tamari
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie lost his cool on the sideline Monday night, pointing at teammates, having a heated talk with defensive coordinator Juan Castillo and stalking away to kneel by himself.
His rant came in the fourth quarter and was the latest and most visible example of how the speedy cornerback has failed to find a good fit on his new team. Rodgers-Cromartie was victimized over and over again by the Bears, including on one early play when he appeared to give up as Earl Bennett caught a pass and continued running for a 14-yard gain, the Eagles safeties stopping him instead of Rodgers-Cromartie.
When he came to the sideline in the fourth quarter, Rodgers-Cromartie was confronted by Castillo, appeared to point to his secondary teammates on on the bench, then moved away from them. Nnamdi Asomugha and then Andy Reid came to calm him down.
"I got frustrated on a play that I should have known was coming and instead I did something else, so you know I kind of went off. (Shoot), I was mad, it was in the heat of the moment, (stuff) is going to happen."
Asked if it was a blown assignment, Rodgers-Cromartie said, "it was a blown assignment, frustrated the way the night was going, all that tied into it."
On the play that he appeared to stop playing, he explained:
"I tapped the ball and when I tapped it I felt the ball hit my hands so I thought I knocked it down, but evidently it tapped it into his hands and I didn’t realize it until he was tackled."
Rodgers-Cromartie was supposed to be a Pro Bowl-level cornerback, but he has not performed well and has yet to contribute a big play. At times he appears to run away from tackles.
Part of his play seems due to his struggle adjusting to playing in the slot, but the Eagles have worked to put him on the outside, where he is more experienced, and Rodgers-Cromartie has still not performed.
"I’m a way better corner than I’m playing," he said.
That's what the Eagles thought when they traded for him.
Report Card: Grade the Eagles
At the start of the season I predicted the Eagles to finish at 9-7 and maybe get a wildcard berth. Why only 9-7? Horrible head coach and a D-coord who use to be the O-line coach, no LBs, unproven O-Line, and too many "stars" who I doubted would be able to gel and play well together. Guess 9-7 was too optimistic.— BleedPhilly
Juan Castillo is horrible. If you watch the game they all look confused. They don't know what they should be doing including Nhamdi. We need an actual defensive coordinator. Not someone who had a Make A Wish come true by Reid.— MoRacker- This is what happens when you try and shave a few bucks off the payroll and hire in-house instead of hiring a quality, experienced DC.
— lgroniko - '...The season is toast and so is Andy Reid.'
I'm more than willing to have this season tank if it means getting rid of Fat Andy.
— techdiver - If they can resist following the advice of us so-called fans and not do anything drastic, this team will finish up on a positive note and middle round draft pick. They'll get a full offseason together and come back much stronger next season. And I don't think getting rid of a corner will help. Keep what you have back there, focus on linebacking upgrades and building cohesion. They can make a Chargers-like run, but it doesn't matter. Calling for Andy's head right now is plain stupid.— KNuff
- Maclin and DeSean don't have the guts to go over the middle, keep em on the edge where they belong, neither did Vick any favors all night. This D is so soft, no way the birds finish above .500. At least Juan will be long gone come Feb, that dude is terrible.— TarHeel Eagle
- start with andy. clean house!— phillyfrank1
- We are SPOILED!! Do anyone of you remember before Andy got here? I do! We was sooooo bad that I was happy for a 4 win season... Yes Andy made some poor decision on Defense- i.e.( Juan as DC, Small late round LB's) But I think this is the rebuilding phase.. Last year we we're lucky and caught fire for a while, but even fires get put OUT!!— fatdaddy227
- "We have to do better. We have to prepare our guys better. In hindsight, I guess we should have done that."
Sound familiar, Eagels fans?— lgroniko 
I don't know why Eagles fans start getting upset when this new team started on a losing streak. This is a whole new team, there was no preseason training camp and this is a totally different staff. You don't throw all these people together and expect a winning season right off the bat. They need a season to gel and learn all the new positions and work with new teammates. Chill out, even when McNabb started his first year, it was a losing season.— racers7
