The Oakland Raiders Should Either Use Nnamdi Asomugha Or Trade Him

Let me begin this article by saying I am a huge fan of Nnamdi Asomugha, and for the Raiders to become an elite defensive unit he is a necessary component.  Although he is undoubtedly a top five defensive back in the mind of anybody that deserves an opinion, he annually gets robbed of the chance to show his true value in a sophisticated NFL caliber defense by his own Oakland Raiders.  For this reason I ask the question, if you’re not going to use his skills effectively, why not trade him? 

            Year in and year out I read about Nnamdi begging the defensive coordinator to unleash his skill set, which would put him in the position to make big plays on Sunday.  Every year I hear the same responses, particularly the infuriating tidbit about how the Raiders are blitzing more in practice, and we must “wait and see” if they dial up those plays in a real game.  Al we get it, you like to get a pass rush with your front four, but NOBODY can cover NFL receivers in man coverage for too long.  And if you haven’t noticed, every current successful NFL team has a creative and well disguised blitz package they unload every Sunday.  You should be well aware of this fact, since they are the guys embarrassing your offensive line and piling up sacks on a weekly basis.

            The teams with “shut down” corners blitz heavily, and rely on their special players to do special things, just like Rex Ryan and the Jets.  If the opposing quarterback has all day to throw, he will simply stand in the pocket until the receiver on the opposite side of Nnamdi creates separation and dissect our defense.  Believe me it happens every single week, and Nnamdi cannot even shadow the opposing team’s best player, so most of the time it is their biggest playmaker against our second best corner.  At the end of the day, no balls go in Nnamdi’s direction and we are an ineffective defense.

            Trading Nnamdi would provide two benefits, first we would receive a high draft pick that may actually impact our team, and two it would give Nnamdi the chance to go to a competent team that would use him properly.  He is a fantastic man in skill and character, and definitely deserves the chance to shine on Sunday before father time diminishes his playmaking ability.  Once again, I am in no way advocating for the trade of Nnamdi Asomugha, but if we are not going to use him it makes a great deal of sense.