5 Reasons Why the Detroit Lions Should Not Trade for Eagles CB Asante Samuel

Without a doubt the Eagles have had one of the greatest free agencies ever. They ripped off the Cardinals, added the best cornerback in the league and signed one of the best defensive tackles. Now, they are looking to put the icing on the cake by trading away Asante Samuel, a Pro Bowl cornerback for either a stud offensive lineman or stud linebacker.

There have been plenty of rumours on the internet that the Lions should bed heavily to acquire the former Patriot and Eagle, but I for one am sure that Martin Mayhew will not be pursuing this too aggressively. He knows that there are better places he could allocate his time.

I think there are five key reasons why the Lions will not be interested in signing Asante Samuel, despite his impressive resume and play over the last three years. I will try to lay these out in this article.

Enjoy!

He Is Primarily a Zone Coverage Cornerback

This is the key objection I have. It is common knowledge that the Lions operate with a man heavy coverage scheme that relies on press coverage for the most part. They feature a relatively low ratio of zone looks. This sort of coverage scheme suits cornerbacks like Antonio Cromartie or Jimmy Smith, long and rangy athletes who can run with receivers downfield and most importantly jam them consistently and effectively at the line of scrimmage.

While Samuel is a great cornerback, and can do this, it is not his forte. He is only 5'10" and weighs 180 lbs. Also, his jamming technique is not all that polished. This means that he would struggle more than he has if he was in a scheme that relied on him jamming number one receivers at the line on about 75% of his snaps.

In Philadelphia he was playing in a quintessential zone based defence, and even in New England he played as an off-man corner most of his snaps. This takes the emphasis of jamming at the line and puts it back into running with receivers downfield and picking off errant passes.

This is not to say that Samuel would struggle in a press coverage scheme. He is a quality cornerback and would perform. However, he would be likely not to perform up to his contract and trade cost. This would make it more prudent to target a cheaper cornerback more suited to the scheme Detroit uses.

Age

Asante is also no spring chicken. While cornerbacks can and so play well after they pass 30, especially players with the skill set of Samuel, it is not ideal for a rebuilding team to trade for players who are reaching the decline of their careers. Samuel will only have at best four great years remaining, and the Lions are unlikely to be real Super Bowl contenders until at least 2012 or 2013. This means that Asante will probably no longer be an elite cornerback by the time the Lions really need one.

The free agency philosophy of the Lions this year also shows that they want youth. The two major our of town free agent signings are both of players who are under 26 years of age. This indicates that the front office wants to pick up just young players, which Samuel is not. This is another reason why the Lions will be looking elsewhere for a starting cornerback.

His Contract Would Be Very Expensive

Asante Samuel would also come with a very expensive contract with three years remaining on it. While this would not bother some teams, the Lions already have plenty of big contracts and arguably need to sign one more high level free agent linebacker.

The Lions front office has been great thus far finding "square pegs", signing them for small contracts and then plugging them into our lineup. It would be a quantum shift in ideology to sign a big name free agent on the wrong side of 30 who has a big contract. Nevertheless a player who does not fit the Lions defensive scheme that well.

The length is also an issue. Samuel has three years left on the contract. The Lions will probably take two or three more years to become Super Bowl contenders, so signing a player with just that much time left seems foolish. Sure the contract could be renegotiated, but given the quality of Samuel's 2010 season it would cost even more, last until he is 36 (when he would not be worth the money) and involve a lot of guaranteed cash that the Lions would not want to spend.

The monetary cost involved in bringing Samuel to Detroit is prohibitive at best. Mayhew probably has plenty of names he would rather pay big money. Like Nick Barnett or Stephen Tulloch.

The Trade Cost Would Be High

Regardless how much his contract would cost, the amount of players the Lions would have to send to Philadelphia to pry Samuel away from them would kill the trade anyway.

First of all, the Eagle want to win now. This much is clear after they picked up Jason Babin, Cullen Jenkins and Nnamdi Asomugha, all who are over 30. This supports the rumours that the Eagles do not want any draft picks in return for Samuel. They want some starting linebackers or offensive linemen who can start from day one and upgrade their team in 2011.

This would hurt the Lions. They have very few expendable starters, and have none in the Eagles positions of need. No doubt the Lions would have to send either DeAndre Levy, Justin Durant or Rob Sims to Philadelphia in the trade, and this makes no sense. They are all young, while Samuel is old. Also, the Lions would also have to send other depth players to sweeten the deal.

This is extremely implausible, and a GM with the skill and sense of ours would not make such a Millen like mistake. The Lions need every starter they have, and trading away multiple guys for a player who is not a young stud cornerback, linebacker or offensive tackle would set the team back years. Mayhew will continue doing what he has been doing and the Lions will be alright.

The Lions Have an Elite Defensive Line

This may be less related to Asante Samuel, but will play an important role in any moves relating to the secondary. The "Silver Crush" is a top defensive line, and puts lots of pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

This is what prompted the need for good press cornerbacks on the Lions roster. Opposing offenses have begun to focus on short passes which nullifies the pass rushing effect of their defensive line.

To counter this, the Lions cornerbacks need to be able to mess up the timing of the receivers route running and force the quarterback to keep the ball in his hands. The easiest way to do this is to use a press coverage scheme. It is this scheme that Samuel does not suit very well.

Also, a top defensive line takes pressure off a secondary. They have to cover receivers for less time, and are found out less. This could be a factor in the Lions not investing as heavily as many fans would like in cornerbacks.

With the addition of Nick Fairley, the Lions hope that the defensive line will create enough pressure to allow the Lions to not have a bona fide number one shut down cornerback, and instead get by with above-average starters.

This tactic would allow them to invest in improving the offensive line and linebacker corps. It would also rule out trading for an expensive cornerback. That again would seem to suggest that Detroit is off the Asante Samuel market.