PHILADELPHIA - There is right and wrong, good and bad and somewhere between those extremes, Eagles cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.
The decision to sign Asomugha to a five-year $60 million contract with $25 million guaranteed is at least as debatable as Andy Reid's insistence that Juan Castillo's role as offensive line coach would help him transition to defensive coordinator.
The Eagles, you may recall, stole Asomugha from the hated Dallas Cowboys. Owner Jerry Jones was convinced his bid would be enough. But the Eagles jumped in and the rest is history, actually a repeat of history.
The Eagles are 11-15 (.423) without a playoff appearance since Asomugha arrived. Unless they beat the Carolina Panthers Monday at Lincoln Financial Field, the Eagles (3-7) won't finish the season with a winning record. Asomugha has four interceptions for the Eagles, including a touchdown-saving grab against the Lions this season.
Rewind to Oakland and Asomugha played for five coaches in eight seasons. The Raiders didn't reach the playoffs, never finished better than 8-8 and produced a 37-91 record (.406). Asomugha picked off 11 passes there.
While it takes 11 to play defense and 53 to make a team Asomugha freely admitted Friday if he was an Eagles fan, he would have a problem with himself.
"If a fan has issue with that they're not going to get me saying that that's wrong," Asomugha said. "As a fan I can look back to teams that I've liked and when a player that I've liked comes in and expecting it to just change and it's not working out and being upset about that. So I can't now be that guy and then look at them and say `you can't be upset that we haven't won and I haven't been Superman on the field.' Even though that's what's been expected of me."
It's more responsibility than Asomugha tends to take after games amid questions about breakdowns.
Pass coverage is sophisticated to a point where players don't always understand where they're supposed to be. It may be coincidental but Asomugha, who grew up playing man-to-man press coverage with the Raiders, typically is in a lot of the frames where opponents are ripping off big pass gains. Lately the numbers have been dramatic.
The Eagles are winless in their last four games. They've allowed 11 touchdown passes, a collective 143.5 passer rating and 31.8 points.
Looking at the chronic mistakes, including Asomugha getting beat for a score with at least one other teammate against the Redskins, it seems more than the fault of the coordinator.
Speaking of which, Asomugha apologized after Castillo got the axe in the wake of his comments critical about changing coverage late in the loss to the Lions. With Bowles, the recent numbers have plummeted.
"We haven't been the same," Asomugha said. "You saw a lot more plays being made I guess in the first six weeks. We've tried to implement a couple more things, especially this week, that will help us make those plays. That's been the one big thing is the plays aren't there like they were whether it's a strip or a play in the defensive backfield."
Bowles is at wits end. His style isn't to blame players, much less specific players. Point blank he said Asomugha, Nate Allen and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie all were a part of the blown TD coverage in the Skins game.
"We should have had two of the three back there and that didn't happen," Bowles said.
The secondary isn't the only area of the defense where the veterans that are supposed to be helping the younger players are slipping up.
"The players are going to make mistakes just like your children," Bowles said. "You don't want them to happen and you can go over and over them. We have a responsibility to correct it and they have a responsibility to get it right."
Reid might not be the only guy on the hot seat in what's looking more and more like a second straight season without playoffs. Whoever coaches the team is going to look at underperforming veterans such as Asomugha.
Asomugha says he won't look that far ahead and that his faith tells him no matter what happens it will be for the best. Looking back, however...
"Did I make the right decision? Should I have gone somewhere else?" Asomugha said. "That doesn't cross my mind at all. It's always, yes, this is the place that I wanted to be. Whatever happens or has happened, I always have the mindset that there's something to learn from it or a way to grow from it. Especially with what we've been through, the type of stuff we've been through the last year and a half."
"I absolutely believe in the decision that I made and I believe in this team."
In a couple of months the Eagles will evaluate all of their decisions, including the one to bring Asomugha on board.