Samuel's hard day: He's fined, hurt, angry

Asante Samuel, who collected three turnovers Sunday against the New York Giants, pulled off a trifecta of a different kind Wednesday:

First, the Eagles cornerback was fined $40,000 for his helmet hit to Giants receiver Derek Hagan.

Second, he missed practice with a knee sprain.

And third, he called Deion Sanders a "hater."

Samuel, known for his aversion to tackling, put a lick on Hagan that drew an unnecessary-roughness penalty. Replays showed that the cornerback led with his arms and shoulder even if there was helmet-to-helmet contact.

Eagles coach Andy Reid, in a discreet way, disagreed with the call. Originally, the fine cost Samuel $50,000, but a call by Reid to the league office trimmed $10,000 off the top, according to the cornerback.

"I don't get paid to tackle. Now they're charging me to tackle," Samuel said.

The letter Samuel received informing him of the fine said that he was a repeat offender. But he said he had never been charged before for an illegal hit. The NFL has made a concerted effort this season to crack down on hits to defenseless receivers.

"I think they want us to go low on a defenseless receiver and break some legs," Samuel said. "That's probably what they want."

Despite the illegal hit, Samuel had another great game. He picked off Giants quarterback Eli Manning twice - giving him a league-leading seven interceptions - and recovered a fumble. Samuel said he twisted his knee on the recovery.

"I was on . . . painkillers, so I didn't feel nothing," Samuel said. "The next day I couldn't really walk."

Joselio Hanson and Trevard Lindley took Samuel's repetitions at cornerback on Wednesday. If Samuel can't go Sunday at Chicago, Hanson likely will start, and Lindley will step in on the outside when Hanson moves inside on nickel downs.

"We'll take it day-by-day here and just see how he does," Reid said when asked about Samuel's prognosis for the Bears game. "I can't tell you that he's not a little sore today and gimpy."

Samuel was also sore because Sanders said on the NFL Network that Samuel was the best off-cornerback in the league, meaning that Samuel most often plays off the line of scrimmage rather than up close.

"I would rather you tell me I'm not the best [cornerback] or I am the best," Samuel said.

Earlier Wednesday, Samuel wrote a response to the Hall of Fame cornerback on Twitter: "@DeionSanders is the biggest hater in the world. He ain't no real FL [Florida] boy he is a fake. FL boys keep it real. Men lie women lie numbers don't."

Sanders responded on Twitter Wednesday night: "I just heard what A. Samuel said. 1st I like this kid and said he was the best off corner in the game. How is that hate?"

Samuel often is compared to Sanders, one of the best cover corners in the history of the game.

"I think you see [Samuel] as a complete player this year, where he's covering well and he's making plays on the ball and, at the same time, he's playing physical," Reid said. "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."

or jmclane@phillynews.com. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Jeff_McLane.

Staff writer Jonathan Tamari contributed to this article.