Nnamdi Asomugha

Up-Down Drill   Nick Foles The kid can play. Can he be next year's starter? The fact that Foles has gotten better with each of his four starts suggests that he could be. It should be noted that the Buccaneers entered the game with the worst passing defense in the league. But Foles should enjoy his first NFL victory.   Damaris Johnson For all his skill, Johnson is starting to make the coaches wonder if he can be placed in a big spot. The rookie muffed his second punt of the season, and this one rejuvenated the dormant Bucs when they followed the turnover with seven points.

No doubt about it - the secondary is the primary focus of the wrath of Eagles fans. When fans were asked, "Who is the Eagles weakest link?" from among 25 choices, more than 70 percent of the 2,335 votes went to cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, and safeties Kurt Coleman and Nate Allen. Asomugha himself got 40.2 percent - 939 votes. Now it's time, as promised in Tuesday's story, for the final showdown to determine Mr. Disappointment for the 2012 season.

Nick Foles UP -  The rookie quarterback had his best game as a starter. Foles stood in early and took a big hit before he connected with Brent Celek. He made smart decisions, and he didn't turn the ball over. The kid may have a future.   Bryce Brown UP -  Brown became the first Eagles rookie running back to run for more than 100 yards in his first two career starts since Charlie Garner accomplished the feat in 1994, but his fourth-quarter fumble killed off the Eagles' chances.

ABOUT A THIRD of them stayed home, and a bunch more left at halftime, the empty seats making their own statement on a cold November night. A lot of the rest pretty obviously gave the tickets to their kids, as if it were an exhibition game. It is what happens in a season such as this. They did not boo the Eagles coming out of the tunnel before the game. It is not what these people tend to do, their reputation to the contrary. They booed busted coverages and the ridiculous touchdowns that resulted, which is what you would expect.

IT'S AS though steel locker-room doors are transparent for Troy Vincent. He isn't in the Eagles' locker room anymore, but he seems to know exactly what's going on. The Eagles inducted Vincent into their Hall of Fame before their Monday night game against Carolina. He welcomed the honor, and, in typical Vincent style, made the most of the chance to undress the Eagles' obvious deficiencies in the leadership department. In particular, Vincent assessed the experience of Nnamdi Asomugha, the most heralded corner to play in Philadelphia since Vincent went to five Pro Bowls from 1996-2003.

When the Panthers run The Panthers averaged an NFL-best 5.4 yards a carry in 2011 but they have plummeted to only 4.0 yards this season. Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams, who combined for 1,597 rushing yards last year, have been unspectacular this season. Stewart is averaging just 3.6 yards; Williams is at 3.4. The loss of Pro Bowl center Ryan Kalil, who suffered a season-ending foot injury in Week 5, has hurt. His replacement, Geoff Hangartner, has not done well opening holes.

Even more painful than the Andy Reid news conferences lately have been the weekly sessions with defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. Andy, we've seen on the hot seat before, over the years. The Eagles' outlook has never been quite this bleak, but there have been many crises; Reid knows what we're going to ask, we know what he's going to say. The dynamic is familiar. Bowles, we'd hardly heard from at all before the first-year secondary coach was abruptly handed Juan Castillo's job Oct. 16. We still don't know what sort of scheme he prefers, what kinds of players he likes.

Sixteen months into Nnamdi Asomugha's tenure with the Eagles, the oft-criticized former Pro Bowl cornerback admitted his experience is "not even close" to what he anticipated when he signed a five-year, $60 million contract with the Eagles in July 2011. He thought he was joining a contender, but the Eagles are 11-15 since he signed, and Asomugha is on pace to continue a career-long postseason drought. Because of his contract and his previous status as one of the NFL's elite cornerbacks, Asomugha has seen his play come under scrutiny.

LANDOVER, Md. - Somewhere, Juan Castillo is laughing right now. And if he isn't, he damn well should be. The defense that Castillo was deemed unfit to lead last month has been an absolute joke since Andy Reid's mid-October panic move. And I'm not laying this on Castillo's replacement, Todd Bowles. I'm laying it on a group of defensive players that aren't nearly as good as they think they are. "It's frustrating," safety Kurt Coleman said after Sunday's embarrassing, 31-6 loss to the Redskins in which rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III threw four touchdown passes and just one incompletion in 15 attempts.

TWO 3-6 TEAMS starting rookie quarterbacks. I guess I'll take the QB who has been starting all season over the one making his first start, especially since Robert Griffin III is at home, and Nick Foles will be working in a hostile environment, behind a bad offensive line. I like Foles. I think he'll throw at least one touchdown pass. But I also think he's likely to throw at least one ill-timed pick, and that will be the point where the Eagles' fragile defense crumples like Kleenex.