What Raider fan can forget the days of Nnamdi as a Raider. He was a lone bright spot on Oakland’s team mastering man to man defense. His name was only known to Raider fans due to the lack of interceptions. Opposing quarterbacks wouldn’t dare throw the ball on number 21′s side of the field. His height and wingspan allowed Asomugha to contend with the tallest of receivers. Despite the difficult time he had fitting into Philly’s defense Asomugha, when used properly, can still strike fear into the hearts of quarterbacks.

San Francisco is also acquiring a very active participant in the community. In 2007 the outstanding athlete was named Home Depot Neighborhood MVP for his services throughout the community. Not to mention being awarded Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year the following year, and qualifying for the Walter Payton Man of the Year award in 2011. Raider Nation wishes you the best of luck Nnamdi!

Carson Palmer looked for the most part sharp and more comfortable on the field then in past games. The return of Denarius Moore was a positive for the team and especially Palmer. I can tell DMoe still is not 100%, but he still made some fantastic plays. Our new punt returner Phillip Adams is amazing. He is definitely going to make some crazy good plays this season. [blackbirdpie id="247724306187051008"]

Our front seven on defense played well again but got tired towards the end of the game. Also, Darren McFadden is not hurt yet (even though Gregg  Knapp’s poor play calling made him look injured).

Speed Kills, Picture A.P.

Now for the bad; this list is a lot longer than the previous “good” list. We have a huge hole in our defense called Pat Lee. He was exploited bad on Sunday. He made Brian Heartline look like Wes Welker. They picked on him like a kid in school wearing a Vanilla Ice concert shirt. We had no run game at all! Twenty two (22) yards all day by one of the league’s best running talents, Darren McFadden. Are you serious Gregg Knapp? I gained more than 22 yards yesterday pacing my floor wondering why DMC is not tearing up Miami like a hurricane! I saw way too many yellow flags yesterday. Every time we gained a big play, I would wait till I saw a yellow flag on the field, I was not disappointed most of the time. We also put on a clinic in the second half entitled “How not to tackle”. Is Reggie Bush that good, I don’t think so. He was breaking tackles like he was a 260 pound full back. (Attention Raider equipment trainers, the Butter Flavored Newman Gloves are not working.)

I hope two things happen before next weeks game; Gregg Knapp get lost on the way to the game and Nnamdi Asomugha gets dropped by the Eagles and we pick him up again. Since both of those things probably won’t happen, I’m leaving it in the football god’s hands.

Greg Simon

@simonizr

Staff Writer

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Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

I’ve said it just about everyday of my adult life. Timing is everything. I remind myself of that whenever I’m mad at myself for arriving too early and use it as a mantra when I’m running late.

Timing is everything.

For Nnamdi Asomugha his timing couldn’t have been worse from a team standpoint. He arrived in Oakland just in time for the franchise to endure its worst decade ever. Then he managed to jump ship for Philadelphia just in time for the Eagles to endure one of their most disappointing seasons on record.

I’m not going to take any shots and Aso as I still respect him for all he does both on and off the field. However he is severely mislead in thinking expectations are higher in Philly than they are in Oakland.

Asomugha said as much in an interview when he compared the differences between going 8-8 in the East Bay to going 8-8 in Philly.

“It’s true. The 8-8 in Oakland? We were perennially the last team in the AFC West. We would win maybe two games a year or four games a year. When we got to 8-8 and it was like wow! There is so much improvement. You’re not excited you didn’t make the playoffs, but you’re excited that we were moving in the right direction. I love how different that is over here because 8-8 is not acceptable. It doesn’t matter where you have come from. 8-8 should always be we are playing below where we should be playing. Out here that is the mentality. 8-8 shouldn’t be anywhere near what we are thinking. That was great.”

I see the point Nnamdi is trying to make but he’s not seeing the big picture.

The Raiders are a historically great franchise that had fallen on hard times. He just so happened to be around when, yes, 8-8 was truly an improvement. Nobody in Raider Nation was celebrating that our beloved silver and black had reached mediocrity. Quite the opposite, most of us were disappointed that we missed the playoffs these last two years.

As for he Eagles and all their “expectations”, again Aso is slightly confused. You see Raider fans have seen a Super Bowl team or five over the years. Eagle fans…not so much. Nnamdi makes the classic mistake of the modern athlete by confusing media hype with greatness.

The only reasons expectations were so high in Philadelphia is because the front office dropped major cash in free agency then self-glossed with the “dream team” moniker.

And while we’re keeping it real, let’s be honest. Who in their right mind had high expectations with JaMarcus Russell, Aaron Brooks, and Josh McCown calling signals? I would hope Philly fans expect more of a team loaded with talent.

But I digress.

Like Nnamdi’s statement it all comes down to timing. Had he said this before last season then maybe there would have been some merit to his claims. To say so afterwards cheapens what he endured in Oakland while overstating what he’s seen in one season as an Eagle. Then again, if Nnamdi had said 8-8 would be unacceptable before last season then he would have gotten a nice taste of the merciless media in Philly. So I guess in some ways his timing couldn’t have been better…or…worse? Only time will tell.