Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie has only been with his new team, the Philadelphia Eagles, a few days but he is happy and already feeling settled in, according to his father Stan Cromartie. DRC is not worried about the long-jam some might see at the Eagles cornerback position. They signed Nnamdi Asomugha a few days after getting DRC and already have Asante Samuel.
DRC is not worried about the competition and the team seems to believe he would be the better guy to move into the slot when the Eagles go to their nickel package (5 defensive backs). He also volunteered to take the slot.
With Asomugha and Samuel covering the corners, DRC’s speed, size and athleticism make him all the more valuable. It’s a better fit than what he had in Arizona and he apparently knows it.
As a nickel back you won’t be starting, but you see a lot of playing time. At 25, DRC is younger than Samuel and Asomugha (both 30). It also might add some years to his career.
Samuel still hasn’t reported to camp because of personal reasons and some speculate he might be traded. If only for money, it makes more sense to keep DRC because his contract doesn’t carry the same dollar signs as Samuel and Asomugha.
Samuel allowed 3.2 yards per pass attempt in his direction last year and was first in the league in his success rate (78 percent), which is the percentage of passes that don’t manage to get at least 45 percent of the needed yardage on first down and 60 percent of needed yardage on second down or 100 percent of needed yardage on third down, according to Football Outsiders.
Of course, there are lots of factors that go into these numbers, like which cornerbacks are covering the other team’s number one receivers. The quality of a team’s overall defense and who a quarterback is picking on. But it makes for good conversation.
