For some reason, which I can't fully grasp, the big question around Eagles camp has how on earth they can possibly play all three pro bowl corners at once. Juan Castillo's idea of how to solve that problem appears to be just play them.
"Here's the thing, you know that the nickel defensive back is really a starter in the NFL. The way people play, there are some teams that don't even play regular personnel. There are some people like the Colts that play the two tight ends, two wideouts, and one back, and that extra tight end is a receiver. You're playing that nickel the whole game. You know what, no, we have three starters. You need three starters. That's a great deal, we're excited."
Juan pointed out that the Packers played three corners all the time.
" I think they [Packers] set a trend for people not to be scared to do that. It's no different than sometimes having to play three wideouts with your base personnel versus people that you don't know how their subbing.
The Packers utilized Charles Woodson as part of that package in an interesting way. He would blitz sometimes, play the slot guy and generally move around the formation. Juan says that Nnamdi Asoumgha floated the idea of him playing that role in this defense.
"He [Asomugha] and I rode in the car together to practice yesterday, and he was the one who mentioned the kind of job that Rod Woodson did, and that he would be excited about a role like that if it went that way."
So do we seem Nnamdi in the slot when the team plays nickel?
I think [CB] Nnamdi [Asomugha] is a special guy. He wants to make plays. I think he respects Rod Woodson. I think he would love that role, being able to blitz; a big tall guy like that coming off the edge, and then all of the sudden in press coverage on the slot guy. Sometimes if he is going to match, the slot guy may be the guy inside anyway. It's exciting."
It is exciting and frankly Nnamdi has all the physical tools to play that role extremely well. However, if it comes down to it, he really should be glued to whoever the other teams' top wideout happens to be. The really interesting thing here is that Juan mentions that sometimes he "is going to match," which could be a sign that the frustrating policy of the JJ defense to not shadow the other teams' best WR with your best corner is a thing of the past.