Posted March 14, 2013 by Niner Pundit in News

Nnamdi Asomugha scheduled to visit the 49ers

Matt Maiocco is reporting that free agent cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha is scheduled to meet with the 49ers on Thursday.

Yesterday, the rumors floating around were that the 49ers were interested in Nnamdi and that Nnamdi was interested in the 49ers.

Two years ago Nnamdi was one of the most sought after free agents on the market and he was rumored to be on the 49ers radar back then. Now, two years later the 49ers may wind up with Nnamdi at a lot cheaper price than they would have gotten him two years ago.

Someone posed the question on why Nnamdi tanked in Philly and one of our readers responded with this very good analysis:

1. Asomugha was never as good as he was widely perceived to be. People saw what he did in Oakland and assumed that his performance there meant that he was a top 2-3 corner. (That isn’t to say that he was a bad corner. He was good, just not truly exceptional or worth what Oakland and later Philadelphia paid him.) Asomugha excelled in Oakland under a specific set of circumstances: playing left cornerback exclusively with the sideline as an extra defender of sorts. In Oakland, teams were able to avoid him by simply throwing elsewhere or moving their top receiver to the other side of the field. Asomugha struggled when Philadelphia asked him to play zone or to move away from the left side of the field. He can still provide value, though. The main thing is recognizing that he has the potential to be good but not expecting him to come in and be dominant.

2. Recognizing Asomugha’s flaws allows the team to provide him with adequate support (e.g., put him in a situation where he can succeed). As AZ mentioned in the other thread, Philadelphia’s defense as a whole didn’t provide Asomugha with much help — either with a safety over the top or in the form of a pass rush. It’s hard for (m)any corners to succeed in that situation. Juan Castillo as defensive coordinator (prior to Bowles) didn’t help, either. In short: Philadelphia took him out of his element and didn’t do anything to make up for it.

Free Agency Nnamdi Asomugha

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