Asante, Dominique, Nnamdi, Oh My: What's Eagles' Next Move?

Growing up as a die hard Philadelphia Eagles fan there are things I fondly remember about our teams and things I care to forget. Amongst the days prior to the Andy Reid era I remember reading articles in Sports Illustrated as a boy calling the Eagles the "Beagles" for how bad we were.

Nonetheless my unconditional love for my team did not whither as I fearlessly rebelled against my father and his efforts to make me a Dallas Cowboys fan. My mother gave me the freedom of choice and thankfully I knew what evil looked like, it wore an obnoxious star on the side of its head. It's funny how someone like Michael Irving can turn even the youngest Philadelphia Eagles fan off with his antics.

Before the days of Brian Dawkins, the eternal fan favorite, my favorite player was Troy Vincent. We may not have had too many winning seasons in the late 1990's but we had two of the best cornerbacks in Eagles history with Bobby Taylor and Troy Vincent, until yesterday.

The dust has begun to settle from the biggest free agency bombshell to hit the NovaCare complex since a pro-bowl wide receiver I refuse to name back in 2004. Vince Young quietly came in through the backdoor last night, if you did not know, through the Asomugha-Pence fog that covered Philadelphia.

What the Philadelphia Eagles did yesterday proved that their front office remains head and shoulders above most of the NFL when it comes to doing business within the league. Joe "nickles" Banner can refute his nickname with evidence. This wild free agency period has allowed the cream to continue to rise and the mediocre continue to wallow in the wind.

Washington Redskins, I'm talking to you.

Let's take a look at the options the Philadelphia Eagles have now with what become has become an overflowing amount of talent at cornerback.

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Keep All Three Pro Bowlers Long Term

This option may increasingly become less likely as the days wear on and the speculation continues to run wild, but for now let's look at it.

The Philadelphia Eagles provided Juan Castillo with some pretty sexy assets to draw up plays with. Asante Samuel has locked down the RCB spot for years now and when the Eagles traded for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie they planned on moving him over to the LCB spot. (He played RCB in Arizona)

Now they have Nnamdi Asomugha, who also plays in the LCB position. Asomugha and DRC are both considered coverage corners who like to press at the line of scrimmage. Asante Samuel notoriously is known for his unique style of play, playing off the ball and pounces on his receivers.

His off-the-ball style has made him an interception specialist. Which brings me to wonder if the Eagles will try to work in some new scheme where maybe they put DRC and Asomugha on the outside pressing the wide receivers. This would allow Samuel to possibly play off the slot and sit in a zone to do what he does best, read the quarterback.

Far fetched, yes, but it is hard to see all three of them on the field at once without putting one of them into a new role.

Keep Asante in the Fold for One Year

A more probable option for the Philadelphia Eagles and their three musketeers in the defensive backfield would be to keep Asante Samuel for one year. His contract gives him $5.9 million this year and then bumps up to $8.2 million in 2012.

With contract issues still waiting to be dealt with for Desean Jackson and Michael Vick, the Eagles could afford to keep Samuel for one year, but would be better suited trading him after next season if they do keep him in 2011.

Although speculation in the media has been that the Eagles will need to trade the 30 year old corner, Howie Roseman contradicted the speculation yesterday in his press conference.

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"We do consider the third corner a starter...It's a passing league. And we think it's important to defend the pass and pressure the quarterback. . . . We felt last year we were in a situation where maybe we got a little shorthanded [at cornerback] and thought it was a place we wanted to go heavy and have a lot of talent. You can never have enough cover corners."

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Yes, Howie, you certainly cannot have enough corners in the NFC East. The Dallas Cowboys, Washington Redskins, and New York Giants all have a stable each full of wide receivers that burned the Philadelphia Eagles for a historically bad 31 touchdowns allowed through the air.

The Eagles also made the move adding DRC and Asomugha with one eye on the Green Bay Packers and another on the New Orleans Saints, two prolific passing teams that would stand in their way come next January.

Having three pro-bowlers, even for one year, would certainly lower that number.

Trade Asante Samuel for a Linebacker

Trading a player the caliber of Asante Samuel could provide the Philadelphia Eagles with a nice addition in a needed area. The Eagles have made splashes adding Asomugha, Rodgers-Cromartie and Jason Babin throughout this week, but linebacker is still a glaring need.

The longer the Eagles wait to find a veteran linebacker for their very young and relatively inexperienced linebacking core, the better value they could get in the market. Guys who thought they could cash in may now begin to lower their asking price, especially for a team that has made it clear they are pushing in all their chips to win it all.

They may not have to trade Asante Samuel, but for the money they would need to spend in order to bring in a guy who could make the impact needed at the position would be nearly impossible.

The problem with this option is that Howie Roseman and the Philadelphia front office need to find someone willing to take an aging cornerback, who comes at a premium price, doesn't play a normal cover technique and doesn't know how to spell tackle.

Finding a team willing to take Samuel and who is willing to trade a veteran middle linebacker will prove to be very difficult.

That said, do not underestimate this front office's ability to sell their players and receive great value in return. They have proven they could sell a sno-cone to an Eskimo during a Northeaster, so do not rule it out.