Quintin Mikell defends Asante Samuel
Asante Samuel's likely departure from the Eagles struck a nerve over the weekend with former Eagles safety Quintin Mikell, who is now with the St. Louis Rams.
Quintin Mikell defends Asante Samuel
Daily News staff
Asante Samuel's future with the Eagles could well be determined in the next few days with a trade potentially happening before the NFL draft.
The Denver Post reported last week that the Broncos made two proposals — one for a fifth or sixth rounder and the other for a player. However, the report indicated that trade is unlikely.
Obviously, Samuel's contract is an impediment to a deal, although indications are that he would be willing to restructure.
Samuel's likely departure struck a nerve over the weekend with former Eagles safety Quintin Mikell, who is now with the St. Louis Rams.
Mikell took to Twitter and ended up in conversation with fans who clearly think less of Samuel than his former Eagles teammate.
"Can't Believe Asante About To Be Traded. Dude Can Play," Mikell began.
"Still He's A Top 5CB. QBs Won't Even Look His Way. I've Seen It Happen," Mikell responded to one fan.
On Samuel's tackling, "Honestly The Guy Can Tackle. He Doesn't Want To. And Honestly They Brought Him To Get Picks! What Brings In Terms Of Passing Game Is 7-10 Pics. But What About The Fact That A QB Uses Only Half The Field."
One fan suggested that Mikell, as a guy who makes tackles, should be offended by the way Samuel plays.
"As A Guy That Does Lay The Wood I Don't Want My CBs Making Tackles. I Want Them Pissing Off Wrs And QBs... I Want To Be The One Tackling. Honestly If A RB Bust Thru And The CB Misses A Tackle I'm Mad At Myself And The Front 7."
One fan said Samuel is expendable because Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie are good players. "I agree. I'm saying he's better tho. No Disrespect To Anyone Else But I Respect His Game That Much."
On Samuel and press coverage, "U Can Ask Anyone Asante Is A Very Good Press Corner. People Saying He Can't Press Are Crazy. Dude Can Press Too."
On how Samuel's contract plays into his future with the Eagles, "It's Not The Scheme It's The Moolah!! I'm Talking FB Wise. He's Way Better Than Y'all Are Giving Him Credit For! All I'm Saying Is The Guy Is A Baller. U Think It's A Fluke Denver Wanted Him? 2HOF QBs There"
One fan suggested Mikell should not be surprised, because the Eagles also thought they did not need Mikell or Brian Dawkins. "The Saddest Part Is Everyone Who Jim Johnson Brought Up Is Gone. His Design Was Dismantled," Mikell tweeted.
On another player from that era, Sheldon Brown, Mikell said, "Sheldon Is A Baller. One Of The Most Underrated Players I've Ever Seen!!"
And what if the Rams could get Samuel? One word from Mikell: "Sweet."
I agree with Mikell, Samuel doesn't need defending. It is simply that the Eagles have too many corners who do the same thing. His age and contract make him the one most likely to go. He is still about the best ball-hawk out there. It is a shame that they can't get value for him but the fact remains, that the three CBs together didn't work.— gotedge- "Honestly The Guy Can Tackle. He Doesn't Want To. And Honestly They Brought Him To Get Picks!
Please stop. This says it all. How many picks did he have last year? The same amount that Kurt Coleman had in one game? He can tackle but he doesn't want to? Seriously? The Eagles used to be considered one of the best tackling teams in football. Q should worry about his own game because based on the Rams record last year perhaps he should be working on his 'baller' skills. With words of support like these who needs enemies?— rockinrob - Bye Bye Asante !!— dmanphilly
- Have to agree with Mikell that Asante isn't getting the respect from this fan base he should. Still an elite corner and yeah I hate his aversion to tackling as much as the next guy. Someone's gonna get a deal and the Birds are gonna get a late round pick at best.— PhillySubsMac
- Samuel is the best CB on the team. All people complain about is his contract and how he is greedy but what about the FO? They don't want to pay but he wants his money so who is more greedy? They both signed the contract. And, what he said about this FO playing fantasy football is right on target.I
I say keep him, restructure if you can, start him and NA but move NA to nickel when it's called for and bring in DRC to play the outside. If the scheme adjusts a little to them instead of trying to force them to adjust to the scheme, like AR and Juanita do all the time to players and fail, maybe, just maybe, they'll actually go somewhere— Unstable1 - I've never had troubles with Asante. We've all seen him blow up WRs, albeit sometimes getting a 15-yard roughness penalty for a helmet-to-helmet hit. The issue is his age and contract $$$, not his game. His game isn't the problem. He's better than Lito was, for example.— Leegles
- Sadly they need to cut his contract....it is a money thing...and the fact that they did not expect to end up with both of he other tow corners last year.......simly a numbers game....but he is still a game changer and somebody will get lucky with him.....and our 700 level experts have made him the scapegoat for the poor defense of the safeties, the linebacking corps and a DC who had no clue....— nuggett
- does Mikell have software that automatically capitalizes the first letter of each word?
— ekw555 
Comment removed.- I do not like Asante due to his "not wanting to tackle". This is defense and a soft player weakens the entire D. Seemed to rub off last year on the rest of the secondary too BUT at the same time if he is willing to take a pay cut to stay here and could be moved to FS it might be a solid move. He is surely worth more then a 5th or 6th rounder and I would not part with him for less then a 3rd. I am actually hoping maybe the Eagles can pair Asante with out later second rounder to move into bottom of first (w/NE) or top of the 2nd (Rams or Detroit)!!!— connorjr
- Comment removed.
- Just restructure the deal and put him at free safety!— krh66
- I actually agree with all of his tweets AND I think they should get rid of him. He's great but we have too much money tied up in the position and many glaring holes to fill. We overpaid for Nnamdi. I think he'll be fine and have a great year next year but it was a vanity purchase. Now the bill comes due and we need to get rid of Asante.— hillbillybirdsfan
- Dion Sanders wasn't a tackler either but he's firmly established in the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.
Samuel is not just one of the best CBs on the Eagles he's still one of the most feared in the league. Tom Brady doesn't even lob the ball over on the left side of the Eagles Defense. Samuel shuts down an entire side of the field on game days. If his interception production is off that's the reason. The highlight seen on Sportcenter generally don't include bad things happening on Samuel or his side of the field.
Brian Dawkins was a solid hitter in the Eagles Defensive Backfield, but he was a liability in pass coverage. As good as Dawkins was, the Eagles stood out because of the Cornerbacks playing along side of Dawkins. He was great in Run Support, but the Giants, Dallas and Redskin Tight Ends usually had success against the Eagles interior pass defenders, linebackers and safeties, Dawkins being the string in the middle.
Philly doesn't much appreciate talent like Samuel. That was evident when we had Chris Carter. How we let him get out of Philly is a mystery that still remains unsolved.
Samuel deserves more respect than he gets from the Eagles fans.
— Dexter
