Philadelphia Eagles Asante Samuel fined for helmet-to-helmet hit
Asante Samuels, who currently leads the NFL in interceptions with seven, was fined $40,000 on Wednesday 24 November, for his helmet-to-helmet contact on New York Giants rookie receiver
Derek Hagan.
The NFL has come down hard on these types of hits all season, fining other star players such as James Harrison and Richard Seymour large amounts. Samuel was assessed a 15-yard penalty
on the play. It is the second time this season Samuel has been flagged for unnecessary roughness. As reported by Delcotimes.com, Samuel plans to appeal the fine.
Eagles coach Andy Reid was quick to defend his star cornerback, saying, "He's making plays on the ball and at the same time, he's playing physical, and it's unfortunate that whole thing
happened on Sunday where he was flagged because I really think that was a pretty good hit right there."
The same opinion was not shared by former All-Pro cornerback and current NFL network analyst Deion Sanders, who lamented that Samuel was the best "off corner" in football. Sanders expressed
that he didn’t think Samuel was physical enough to play bump and run with receivers off the line of scrimmage.
While Samuel refused to comment on Sanders’ opinion, his teammates had some words to say regarding the issue. "If Asante wanted to press, he'd be the best press corner in football," Eagles
safety Quintin Mikell said. "He shuts people down. But he understands that if you're playing off, you're going to get more chances to make plays. He has what, seven interceptions? I think he's the best corner in football. I think that qualifier needs to be
taken off.”
Samuel sprained his knee in last weekend’s match-up versus the New York Giants, and has been unable to practise this week. His status for Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears is uncertain.
The Eagles signed cornerback Brandon Hughes from their practice roster, after starting cornerback Ellis Hobbs was put on injury reserve with a neck injury, thus ending his season.
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