Pro Football Focus took a look at their individual grades for players now that the season is over and identified who made the biggest jumps up and drops down for each team. For the Eagles, Derek Landri was up and Nnamdi Asomugha was down..
Derek Landri: From -7.1 to +22.0
So where did that come from? Landri started in Carolina, and despite having one of the quickest first steps of any interior lineman, failed to impress the longer the season went on. Yet put him in the wide-nine scheme and watch him go. Landri played so well as a backup in his 355 snaps that he has many thinking he could handle a full-time role in the Eagles’ defense. What was so impressive was how the former Jaguar was able to make plays rushing the passer and defending the run, showing the kind of discipline that the scheme relies on. Great find.
And for the downside....
Nnamdi Asomugha: From +10.0 coverage, to -1.0 coverage
First, don’t take this as saying Asomugha was terrible, he wasn’t. He simply had plenty of moments where he looked completely out of place in a scheme that didn’t seem to suit him. He got better as the season went on and but never justified the price tag, and failed to look like the shutdown corner he had become in Oakland. By the end of the season he had given up twice as many yards and four more touchdowns than he did in all of 2010. You do feel he’ll get better in 2012, but for now, Eagles fan can be understandably disappointed.
PFF also identified the Eagle who most deserves more snaps... Check out the article here.