Nnamdi Asomugha is as amazed as you are that the Eagles have a chance to repeat as division champions.
"You look back now and say, 'What? How'd that happen?' " Asomugha told Peter King on Thursday. "Especially these last few weeks. We enter the New England game (with a 4-6 record) and the talk is, 'If we win out, we're in.' We lose there. Next week, at Seattle, it's 'We win out, we've still got a decent shot.' We lose there. We thought it was over. Now, we've all got to be Jets fans, I guess."
Asomugha was viewed by many to be the missing piece that might finally bring a Lombardi Trophy to Philadelphia. But Asomugha, playing in a unfamiliar role, hasn't been as dominant as he was during his decorated run with the Oakland Raiders. Like many Eagles on Juan Castillo's defense, Asomugha has taken his bumps while learning on the job.
Asomugha admitted the shift from Oakland to Philadelphia has been jarring. He said Oakland typically had four media members in the locker room. The Eagles have 30 or more every day.
"Here," he said, "you're only as good as your last play. But I've learned to embrace it. And I tell you -- I enjoy it. We started 1-3, and it felt like 0-8. The fans were so down. You felt it all over the city. It's like we ruined their lives. Andy (Reid) helped me a lot with that. We talk all the time. When I got here, he told me, 'Be careful not to mix up expectations with reality. Stay levelheaded.' "
