Asante Says Eagles Had Him 'Swinging Like A Rag Doll'
Philly.com, Inquirer, and Daily News coverage of the Eagles
Asante Says Eagles Had Him 'Swinging Like A Rag Doll'
Asante Samuel isn’t surprised that the Eagles were only able to get a seventh-round draft pick for him in April.
"They had me out there swinging like a rag doll,’’ the 31-year-old four-time Pro Bowler, told me Sunday. "Hey, we got Asante Samuel up for sale. I feel like they devalued me. But it is what it is."
Samuel is appreciative to Eagles coach Andy Reid for trading him to the Falcons, which was his top destination choice because it’s a Super Bowl contender and it’s relatively close to his family in Florida.
"Coach Reid and I sat down and considered the options," he said. "He let me pick and choose where I wanted to go. This was the No. 1 place I wanted to go. There were a couple of other teams interested. But ultimately, this is where I wanted to be."
"My family means a lot to me and I got a couple of other situations going on in my life. So it was important to be close to home and my family for whenever they need me and things like that."
Some other highlights from the interview (you can read the full story in tomorrow’s Daily News or on philly.com):
--On his four seasons with the Eagles: "I don’t think any defensive back ever did what I did over there. Andy Reid never had a cornerback that had nine interceptions. Most he had was one with seven. You can talk whatever about whatever. But my production speaks for itself."
--On whether the fact that his interception totals have dropped each of the last three years is an indication that he’s slipping: "You can’t really say I’m slipping. Was I thrown at a lot last year? You gotta look at that too. I don’t think I was slipping. I’m just having a less amount of balls thrown on me. If I was getting all of the balls thrown at me and only had three picks (his 2011 total), then yeah, I’m slipping. But that wasn’t the case."
--On suggestions that he won’t play press coverage: "I can play any coverage. It’s never been a problem. I can play press, back off, zone, man, whatever. I prefer to play off. But I can play press and never had a problem with it when they asked."
--On not being traded last season after the Eagles acquired Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Nnamdi Asomugha: "When they first traded for DRC, I got a call from upstairs and everybody was excited. `We got DRC. You and him are going to be great together.’ Then, no sooner did they hang up then I got another call telling me they had signed Nnamdi and that people were calling and wanting to trade for me. First, they said, `You’re not up for trade. Those are just rumors.’ But at the end of the day, it was all a lie. They did have a trade on the table (at the October trade deadline). But it broke down at the last minute. So we just kind of played the season out, seeing how it went."
Bye Bye Asante !!!— dmanphilly- What's this trading a player to a team of his choice?Think Vince Lombardi(Who won 5 championships)ever asked a player"Where do you want to be traded?You trade him wherever you can get the most back.C'mon Andy,it's about making the Eagles the best team possible,not making a no tackler happy— Eddie123lets go
- You're absolutely correct... these players would never want to talk to one another, free agents would never want to confer to figure out where they want to play next. The fact that an ex-player respects his coach is a genuine reason to bash the coach. Because Lombardi would deal so well with the modern players. — vinni
- "Think Vince Lombardi(Who won 5 championships)ever asked a player"Where do you want to be traded?"
Yes, when he traded Jim Taylor to the Saints.— DA Baracus - see u on october 28 asante.
now reid better run mccoy down samuels throat all day.— bloodymess - You made millions and the coach let you pick where you wanted to go. Stop crying!!— Geno D
- Asante will be missed. The Eagles lost important players on both O (Peters) and D (Samuel). Hopefully the players they brought in to replace them can fill their shoes. The Tonner has his doubts.
- For who, for what
— Flyboy24 
good for him. he has a better shot at a ring in atlanta than here in philadelphia with the dope reid as a coach- He devalued himself by refusing to tackle! I can't believe Reid would "let him choose where he wanted to go"? I think we should have gotten more for him but at the same time ….he never tackled.
Bye Bye. It will be nice to see people getting tackled in the secondary this year!— connorjr - Devalued? HE still got paid right? What's the point of bashing the Eagles, they made a rich man richer with the contract they gave him. Think he's a little bit of a narcissist? Sheesh, shut up and play.— Scott_M
- ...not at all the time for this article! Coach's son has yet to be put to rest - have some respect please.
— Laughingaloud123 - "I don’t think any defensive back ever did what I did over there." He's absolutely correct. I have never seen a DB start for 4 years without making a single tackle.— AreaMan
- This comment has been deleted. — bedpan
- The Canadian and US women's soccer players were tackling eachother better than Asante does too. — chris_r
