Asante Samuel

What does $57.14 million buy you? Apparently, an interception returned for a touchdown in the playoffs. The Eagles got a monster return on their investment yesterday when cornerback Asante Samuel, their big free-agent acquisition in March, returned an interception for a touchdown to help beat Minnesota, 23-14, in an NFC wild-card game. It was a huge play from Samuel, and the first touchdown of the afternoon for the Eagles, who won for the fifth time in six games to set up an NFC divisional matchup against the New York Giants, whom the Eagles beat at the Meadowlands four weeks ago. And it was why the Eagles invested so heavily in the Samuel, who will turn 28 tomorrow, with a six-year deal that included $20 million in guaranteed money.

CHICAGO - I should have some good news these next coming days. Time to get to work! - Tweet from Asante Samuel minutes after the Eagles lost to the Bears. Good news for Asante Samuel means good news for the Eagles, for defensive coordinator Sean McDermott, and, especially, for the Eagles' defensive backs. Samuel watched the Eagles' 31-26 loss from his home. A sprained left medial collateral ligament suffered a week earlier sidelined him. Samuel said he hurt his knee returning his second interception of that game, which gave him a league-high seven picks and almost assuredly set him toward a fourth straight Pro Bowl.

Nnamdi Asomugha, using his length and athleticism, lunged to pluck the floating ball out of the air - interception. That's what the Eagles thought they were getting when they signed the prized free agent to a $60 million deal in the summer. Asomugha stood and - in front of the Dallas bench - extended his arms to each side, holding the pose for more than a few moments. That's not what they expected. Asomugha is supposed to be the cool, cerebral complement to the loquacious Asante Samuel.

BEFORE THE Eagles practiced yesterday, Andy Reid said he wouldn't have anything to say about Asante Samuel's comments last weekend about feeling unwanted, and that Samuel wouldn't, either. One problem: Samuel wasn't finished. And once the cornerback spoke, a whirlwind afternoon of damage control began. It started after practice when Samuel said he and Reid are on good terms and that he's always had a strong relationship with the Eagles coach, but stopped short of stating that he's wanted by the organization.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Whether Asante Samuel wants to be traded or not - and he does not, according to his agent - the Eagles have already fielded calls from teams looking to acquire the Pro Bowl cornerback, NFL sources said. Likely the third wheel in the Eagles cornerback triumvirate, Samuel has been rumored to be on the block after the blockbuster acquisition that netted the Eagles Nnamdi Asomugha on Friday and the trade that brought Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie to Philadelphia the day before.

If the Eagles front office is doing nothing more than sitting around playing fantasy football, as wise-guy cornerback Asante Samuel suggested last week, you at least have to give them credit for getting the right starters on the field in Week 9. Maybe the extent to which the Eagles dominated the Cowboys 34-7 on Sunday night was part fantasy, part mirage - as compared to most of the season prior to the bye - but it was nothing more than what...

If the Eagles front office is doing nothing more than sitting around playing fantasy football, as wise-guy cornerback Asante Samuel suggested last week, you at least have to give them credit for getting the right starters on the field in Week 9. Maybe the extent to which the Eagles dominated the Cowboys 34-7 on Sunday night was part fantasy, part mirage - as compared to most of the season prior to the bye - but it was nothing more than what...

Asante Samuel carefully painted between the lines. For the freelancing Eagles cornerback, the steady and patient brushstrokes must have run contrary to his every instinct. Samuel took part in the Eagles' community playground build last week, and as he helped paint a mural he adhered to the basic guidelines: paint each portion with the labeled color and stay within the lines. On the football field, however, Samuel doesn't paint by numbers. He hardly plays press coverage even when the defense calls for it. And his tackling - or lack thereof - defies the very nature of the game.

ASANTE SAMUEL didn't want to talk to Philadelphia reporters on a conference call this week, but he seems unlikely to be silent Sunday, when Samuel and the unbeaten Atlanta Falcons visit Lincoln Financial Field. "He'll do more talking with the receivers," said Eagles quarterback Michael Vick. "I don't get involved in that. " Vick said of Samuel, who made three Pro Bowls and intercepted 23 passes as an Eagle from 2008-2011, "Asante's a great player. He's a savvy player and he knows how to play the game.

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga . – Asante Samuel was being, well, Asante Samuel. It was nearly 2 hours into the Falcons' afternoon training-camp practice and his voice was as constant as the broiling Georgia sun. Samuel had just broken up a deep ball for wide receiver Julio Jones and immediately chastised both Jones and quarterback Matt Ryan for being foolish enough to challenge him. "I'm not going for that cornbread [bleep]," he said. "That's a low-percentage play, man. Low-percentage play.