Andy Reid Happy With Nnamdi


 Philadelphia Eagles defensive coordinator Juan Castillo talks to cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha.Nnamdi Asomugha now has 20 games under his belt with the Eagles, and the jury is still very much out in the court of public opinion.

 Andy Reid on Monday was asked to assess his big-money cornerback following a tight win over the Giants.

“Listen, he’s a great player. He understands what we’re doing, he’s making plays,” said Reid. “And like any corner in this league, there is going to be one or two where you wish you had them back. But that’s all part of it, especially in the type of defense that we run where you’re going to get up and challenge on every snap. That happens.”

Asomugha had a turbulent night against New York. He was forced to the sideline for a big chunk of the game with an eye injury but eventually returned and played 44 of a possible 68 snaps. He appeared to be the main defender on Domenik Hixon on a big reception down the right side on the Giants’ go-ahead scoring drive midway through the fourth. On the Giants’ final possession, he was whistled for a questionable pass interference infraction. Asomugha also drew the offensive interference penalty on Ramses Barden that all but pushed the Giants out of field goal range in the closing seconds.

“He challenged, that’s what he did,” said Reid. “And some of those, when you guys have a chance to look at the tape, you’ll see that when you have help over the top and you are in a trail position, sometimes it looks like you might be getting beat down the field. But there are reasons as you look at it that you’ll see.

“We’ve all got things we need to work on. He’s no exception  and he has that mentality to do that. I was proud that he came back in and fought like crazy to get back out there and to play.”

More from the head coach:

* Michael Vick has a knee contusion but is fine. LeSean McCoy tweaked his knee and has a little swelling but is expected to be OK. Akeem Jordan (hamstring) is making progress but will struggle to practice Wednesday. Derek Landri has some knee inflammation but should be OK. Jon Dorenbos (ankle) made it through the game fine and should be able to practice Wednesday. Colt Anderson (knee) is expected to return this week. King Dunlap (hamstring) will practice this week, though Reid was noncommittal as to whether he would start at left tackle in front of Demetress Bell.

* On if the heavy dose of the run game was recognition that this offense needs to be more balanced, or if it was a game plan specific to the Giants.

“I will tell you that you like to have a balance,” said Reid. “Does that necessarily mean that it’s a 50-50 balance? No, that’s not necessarily what it means.  Number one, you want to make sure that you do what it takes to win. And then two, you want to make sure you get your group in rhythm and that you keep the defense out of rhythm. The best way to do that is to utilize all your different groupings on offense and give the defense different looks, and at the same time give your offensive line, quarterback and running back an opportunity to get themselves going.”

* Reid explained the 3rd-down play in the red zone late in the game, where Vick rolled out to his left and ultimately just went down.

“It gave us three options. It gave us two receivers on that side that we could work and then it also added Mike into the equation as a runner. If the play wasn’t there, as opposed to forcing something, and if Mike couldn’t score by running, just go ahead and get down; try to do it in bounds. Get down, the clock will continue to run…and we can go ahead and kick the field goal.”