Asomugha gets long-overdue chance to play on a real team

By Anthony Carroll  |   Wednesday, December 17, 2008  |  Comments( 9 )

Oakland Raiders
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Congratulations, Nnamdi Asomugha.

Not only are you one of two lonely bright spots on a team digging itself deeper and deeper into a dark, dismal rut (yes, we’re talking about the Oakland Raiders here), but you’ve been deemed one of the three best cornerbacks in the AFC.

And, this time around, the NFL has kindly notified you early enough to catch a flight down to Honolulu, Hawaii.

The 27-year-old soon-to-be-free-agent-again cornerback was sent to the Pro Bowl this week for the second time in his six-year career. The last time Asomugha was invited to the annual all-star extravaganza was at the end of the 2006 season. League officials phoned Asomugha on Feb. 9, 2007, to replace injured Jacksonville Jaguars CB Rashean Mathis. The Catch-22 -- or in Asomugha’s case, the Catch-21 -- was that the game was scheduled to be played the next day, on Feb. 10, so Asomugha never made it.

This time, thanks largely to his fellow NFL players and coaches, Asomugha (pending injury) will make it to the Pro Bowl.

Fan voting for the 2009 Pro Bowl closed over a week ago, with Asomugha’s name still not on the roster (oddly enough, though, fans felt 12 Redskins were Pro Bowl-worthy). In the end, though, the remaining two-thirds of the voters -- the players and coaches -- cast their votes and felt only one Redskin (FB Mike Sellers) and Asomugha were deserving of tickets to Honolulu.

Asomugha will be joining Tennessee Titans CB Cortland Finnegan and New York Jets defender Darrelle Revis, each of whom will represent the AFC. For the NFC, ex-Raider and current Green Bay Packer Charles Woodson made the squad, along with the Minnesota Vikings’ Antoine Winfield and Asante Samuel from the Philadelphia Eagles.

As for that other lonely bright spot, punter Shane Lechler will be joining Asomugha in Honolulu to represent the 3-11 Raiders. This will be Lechler’s fourth Pro Bowl appearance in his nine-year career with Oakland. This season, the veteran’s 41.3-yard net punting average is a career best, as well as his 28 pins inside the 20-yard line.

As for Asomugha’s stat line, it’s deceivingly ugly.

The 6-foot-2 defensive back has just 37 tackles, one interception and nine passes defensed this year, but has been widely feared and avoided by coaches and offensive coordinators since his breakout season back in 2006. It’s not a surprise, then, that the bulk of Asomugha’s Pro Bowl votes came from coaches and fellow players.

Perhaps the happiest person to see Asomugha make the trip is Lechler, who now can look forward to another Raider answering all the tough questions.

“To get the news today that it was both of us to go and represent the Raiders, it was a good feeling,” Lechler told the San Francisco Chronicle. “I’ve been there three times -- two times it was just me -- and you get hit with all the questions like, ‘How is it in Oakland, and what’s going on?’ and this and that.”

“Now, Nnamdi can answer all those questions.”

What an honor. It seems being an Oakland Raider ruins everything nowadays.

Anyways, congratulations, Nnamdi. Enjoy one non-dysfunctional game without a Raiders jersey on, because Al Davis has another franchise tag with your name written all over it.
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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal...
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CommentsComments: 9  |  Sign Up  View all comments
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No.1
Raidehz		10:46 AM
12/17/2008
Picking Nnamdi for the probowl isn't going to help the Raiders since it's contract season...I don't think he's deserving this...
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No.2
The Franchise		10:52 AM
12/17/2008
keep on hating os-hole, keep on hating, it's what you do best cause it's sure as hell obvious you couldn't write a decent article...
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No.3
The Franchise		11:19 AM
12/17/2008
no to kevin gilbride as head coach. so long robert thomas, they shouldn't have brought you back anyways. who's laughing now jerry...
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