It may look like the mother of all mismatches on paper, but the sight of Nnamdi Asomugha covering Danny Amendola in this week's game between the St. Louis Rams and the Philadelphia Eagles might be one for the ages. That, of course, means Nnamdi playing in the slot, a place you probably are not used to seeing him. According to Peter King, the Eagles plan to play their prized new possession there against the Rams this week and throughout the season.
Again, it gives the Rams another advantage, sort of, for meeting the Eagles in week one while they adjust to their pricey new customized roster. Nnamdi lacks much experience inside, having played on the outside during his days in Oakland. Working the rough and tumble middle of the field will be a far cry from covering a wide receiver that opposing quarterbacks were unlikely to throw to anyway.
Here's King:
He hasn't played much slot corner, but when the Eagles go to nickel against Sam Bradford Sunday in St. Louis, he's likely to move inside to do so in some formations. He stayed outside most of his years in Oakland, and playing inside, Asomugha is likely to be ping-ponged around a bit more, bruised and bumped. We'll see how he handles that, plus how he handles the slippery Danny Amendola of the Rams when they match up. This is no walkover, folks.
Damn right this is no walkover. Amendola knows how to take his lumps on in the inside; he excels at it. Sure, it will do nothing to quiet Amendola's yards per catch critics, but that misses the point. Nnamdi on Danny should open up things for the Rams tight end Lance Kendricks, a guy primed to take advantage of the Eagles' linebackers. As for the rest of the Eagles secondary in that nickel package, the Rams will put Brandon Gibson and Mike Sims-Walker to the test against Asante Samuel and DRC. If Bradford can put some beauty back shoulder throws on those guys, and they can catch those throws, there isn't a cornerback in the world who can beat them.