Asante Samuel's "homecoming" adds to the weirdness of the shadow of Hurricane Sandy...
It looks like Hurricane Sandy will have degenerated into a tropical storm/Nor'easter by game time on Sunday...which still means nasty wind and rain conditions for the Eagles' hosting the Falcons at the Linc... but the game should go off on schedule.
What was never in doubt is the size of Asante Samuel's ego.
Asante is on record as saying he wants to be part of a Falcons beat-down on the Eagles this Sunday, and the reason is clear...We made a mistake in letting him go.
The brash cornerback says he still has "nothing but love" for Eagles fans despite getting traded to Atlanta six months ago. "All y'all fans, all I did for y'all, y'all better cheer for me," Samuel said. "You know what I mean? Deuce here got nothing but love for you."
Samuel indicated that the unceremonious departure still hurts his ego.
After all, he intercepted 23 passes in 56 games for the Eagles, but still was dealt to the Falcons for a seventh-round draft pick.
"Lot of turnovers over there (thanks to me), helped them win a lot of games," he said. "We're undefeated over here, so I'm helping this team win a lot of games, and I'm happy to be here. I'm happy we helped build this team up with the Falcons, you know?"
The four-time Pro Bowl cornerback lost his starting job after the 2011 NFL lockout ended as Eagles coach Andy Reid signed Nnamdi Asomugha as a free agent and traded for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Though he openly criticized team management after being forced into a backup role, Samuel said this week that his focus now is entirely on helping the Falcons (6-0) win at Philadelphia (3-3) on Sunday.
Even so, Samuel stirred things up during Atlanta's bye week with tweets that criticized Reid's recent firing of defensive coordinator Juan Castillo. Samuel, 31, sought to clarify his thoughts with Atlanta reporters this week during a chirpy interview.
The session did not begin until he put on his helmet for the television cameras, copying the diva move that former NFL running back Ricky Williams used with New Orleans in the late '90s. Samuel clearly enjoyed the exchange, upping the antics by speaking through his chinstrap.
"I've got a little personality issue, so it's how I have to do my interviews," Samuel said with a smile through his facemask. "I've just trying to humble myself down. Make sure I don't expand, you know, too much, so my personality issue is kicking in. Talk to me. What's up?"
— Asked about last week's tweets, Samuel said, "Y'all assume that was about Andy. I didn't say this is for Andy. I just made a quote and then another quote. Y'all did that, so talk to me."
— Asked if he appreciates Reid trading him to Atlanta instead of another team, Samuel said that "they tried to not let me come to Atlanta, of course, but you know we got it done. We got it done."
— Asked about Philadelphia's fourth-quarter meltdowns on defense and the turnover problems of quarterback Michael Vick this year, Samuel was blunt.
"It's kind of hard when 22's not there," Samuel said, referring to his own jersey number. "Twenty-two will keep things going for you, you know what I mean? That's what you got to do. You make your bed, and you've got to lie in it."
After the crowd of reporters moved away, Samuel gave a glimpse of his softer side when asked about the condition of his sick mother, whose name he declined to give and whose illness he would not reveal. But her condition was serious enough during training camp that Samuel had to take two personal days to visit her in Florida.
"I've got to do what I can do to help out the best way I can," he said. "She's doing good, fighting hard every day, spirits up."
Samuel has run a Florida-based charity — the Bring it Home Single Moms Foundation — for several years to honor his mother's work in raising him as a single parent. The foundation seeks to identify low-income single mothers who need help in becoming first-time homeowners.
"One thing I support a lot is single parents," Samuel said. "They've got the kids of the future, and I want to help out the best I can, (after) going through the situation I went through." Samuel's charitable spirit might seem counterintuitive to the personality he shows as a player, but not to Falcons coach Mike Smith.
Smith long ago adjusted to Samuel's constant yelling in practice, a habit the former Central Florida standout brought to the New England Patriots as a rookie in 2003 and continued in Philadelphia and Atlanta.
Samuel constantly challenges teammates and rarely hesitates to point out his own skills, but Smith said it's all in good fun.
"Believe it or not, Asante on game day is a different guy than he is during the week," Smith said. "I've learned that real quick in the six games we've played. Asante is all business on game day."
Samuel did his part two weeks ago against Oakland, returning an interception for a 79-yard touchdown in the closing minutes. This week, he was still bragging about the big play.
"Yeah, I changed my name to Pick Six in the offseason, and I got me a pick six," Samuel said with a grin. "Is that what you're referring to? It made me feel good in the Georgia Dome, baby. I've got another chance this week to set it off. Hopefully I'll set it up."
Asante's ego still has to compete with the nasty weather system headed to the Linc on Sunday.
“I think regardless of the weather, you’ve got to go out there and just keep pushing,” Mike Vick said Friday. “Just try to get through it the best way you can. We can’t predict Mother Nature or what’s going to happen. Maybe it won’t be as bad. But if it is bad, then we’ve got to keep grinding it out. The best team’s going to figure it out.”
If Hurricane Sandy shows up early, Vick and his teammates anticipate the game turning into a smash-mouth classic. If that materializes it can’t hurt to have the home field.
Eagles defensive coordinator Todd Bowles will call his plays from the field, not the press box, where he worked exclusively as secondary coach.
Look for the Philadelphia Eagles to add yet another unproven piece to their offensive line puzzle Sunday against the undefeated Atlanta Falcons.
Right guard Danny Watkins has been listed as doubtful on the team's final injury report due to an ankle injury that head coach Andy Reid alarmingly described as "chronic."
Rookie Dennis "Hagrid" Kelly, who was inserted to take all of Watkins' practice repetitions Thursday and Friday, will get the start if last year's No. 1 draft pick is unable to go.
"Danny has got kind of a chronic ankle," Reid said. "I mean he's had it for years. He disturbed it in the last game and he thought it'd be fine. When he came back Monday he practiced, Wednesday practiced, and he just didn't feel right, so [we] backed him up and let the thing settle down. We'll see how he does tomorrow and then on Sunday."
Friday was the first revelation of such a condition for Watkins, who will turn 28 next month and is playing alongside a rookie center in Dallas Reynolds, who was forced into action when Jason Kelce was lost for the season in Week 2.
The plan to go with Kelly could be interpreted as a further indictment of veteran Demetress Bell, the prized free agent they signed last spring to step in temporarily for left tackle Jason Peters, who suffered a torn Achilles tendon and likely will miss the entire season as well.
Bell lost the job to King Dunlap, who has started at guard before.
But Reid feels the offensive line will be better served by simply plugging in Kelly, who was a tackle exclusively before Thursday, rather than moving Dunlap to guard and have Bell (or Kelly) start at left tackle.
"We've given Kelly reps and we have trust in him," Reid said. "Rather than moving three guys around, you move one and you go with it."
Kelly said he's ready if his number is called.
"It's exciting and it's very humbling to know that the coach trusts me like that," Kelly said. "Hopefully I just perform to the level that I want and I won't let him down."
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Me likey U of Tennessee's WRs...Cordarrelle Patterson, especially...That explosiveness and versatility paired wiff dat size...Could be a good replacement if MacDaddy don't come back...
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@Beandip Yeah, he took over that game...Robert Woods is the other WR, should be a 1st rounder...Lee probably isn't going out for the draft this year...
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@Blasphemizer @Beandip Yeah, he won't be draft eligible until 2014. Should go top 5 in the first though.
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effin OSU fans somehow managed to get jobs as refs for the PSU-OSU game tonight. As beans would say, they've been doing it ALL DAY ref!!!
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WOW,...even the Tartuffe can hold his own against the Confederacy of dunces! They seem to progessing,...negatively. Haven't learnt a dang thing. No surprise.
BTW,..who gets in struggles wiff bouncers besides egomaniacal footballers,.....and swilled donks?
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@briview You're still crying about likes like a little bitch, nothing new here to see... How old are you again? LOL!! Get a life you old fool.
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@briview Meh.... I was Drunk and celebrating with my brother.. they tried to put hands on me... They regretted it.. Fuck them... and Sunny... and you King Cowpie
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I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!
Got home a few hours ago poorer, more shot in the arse than when I started out.
I,m not complaining though--I could be Dorkel or Yokel. Now that would be a disaster.
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Oww!!! Me and my brother got in a fight with 3 bouncers last night... the cops didnt charge me thank gawd... apart from a scratch on my face and some sore ribs and knuckles, i came out of with my shit intact... Even got a date with a stunning woman too!!
Yay convict DNA!!!!!!
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yikes... I watched Lattimore's leg break thing in slow motion... like any truly horrible human being would... and that was a mistake... that was pretty gross... I can't imagine how much that hurt... I hope that dude gets great care and that he is OK down the road...
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Kelly,...perk up!,...Grown men don't hope,...they perform,..get the job down. This ain't horseshoes,..it's yur LIFE!!!!....I expect a better response from you. The BORED is concerned and perplexed,................GK.
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You took your clothes off, I started to laugh.
That's when I knew it was through.
I guess i'll go, I'll take a bath.
There's nothing else to do.
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JB - I'm a gonna go wit AR and MM makin a decision that going against the less the stellar run D is the lesser of two evils. Eagles win 27 - 24. Shady gets 20 - 25 touches for 150 yards total.
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Maybe I should proof read before posting
the less the stellar = the less than stellar
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Welp,..off to da grocery store,..to buy whatever wifey decided we needed for the upcoming Water loo.
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It really is interesting,....the current tally in the WIP SUICIDE POOL,.has 15 votes EAGLES,..5 votes Falcons....An undefeated team,..playing a .500 ball club. Yet 3:1 betting ratio. HOMERS?...What does Vegas say?
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Knuckleheads,..keep in mind this old adage,..which supports my current gameplan,...'Kites rise highest against the wind,..not wiff it.'............GK.
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In concert with our resident, sappy meteorologist and all around good guy,.LUPES,..yur GK is trumpeting a 180 degree +/- 20 change in yur usual pre,.during game stuperstitious rituals,.to defy the present refux of bad karma. I will personally summon the demi and semi gods,.to assist us in our mission. You can always count on damnbri,..to see the intangible,.and effectively,..CRUSH IT! Carry on,..knuckleheads.
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I could come up there and stand on the beach in my game-day outfit.
Worked pretty well here...just saying.
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@Palm Feathers @briview Just so long as I can't see that beach from where I'm at.....have at 'er.....
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After reading the article..brings to mind one point for me...
She may take your breath away walking down the street, high-heels, long legs, pretty face. Makes you think if she was 'with you' a lot of things would be better - life better.
Then you remember - there was a time she was with you - before the 'divorce'. And you remember - things weren't all that great - there was 'something' else you wanted. Those sexy high-heeled shoes were just laying on your floor and you would twist your ankle on them walking in the dark overnight.
And she always burned the toast........
So - when you see her - smile, wish her well, smile again and walk away...pages need turning.
OK - I'm done.
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@Palm Feathers When yur in Philly,..there's no other recourse,.but to ,........BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!....shesuks,..she's an Atanterns,.wiff big pouty lips,..whoswiffme?
