We told you here first on GCobb.com about the Eagles having locked up a deal with Asante Samuel. Here's the transcript of the news conference on Friday afternoon at the Nova Care Complex where the Eagles introduced Samuel to the Philadelpia sports media.
Owner Jeffrey Lurie, Head Coach Andy Reid, and CB Asante Samuel Press Conference
2/29/08
Owner Jeffrey Lurie’s opening remarks:
“To say the least, the Philadelphia Eagles are extremely proud to announce that we have signed Asante Samuel. For our organization, we regarded Asante as the number one available free agent in the NFL, and we are very, very fortunate to be able to acquire him. This is a very increasingly difficult period, I think, for teams to acquire free agents, because we all have cap room and needs at certain key, premium positions, like cornerback. [President] Joe Banner and [Vice President of Football Administration] Howie Roseman on behalf of the Eagles, and Alonzo Shavers on behalf of Asante [had] completely professional negotiations. They really deserve the credit. In the days we would be able to sign a player away from another team as a restricted free agent, and we were one of the three or four teams with cap room, that took creativity in cap planning, but this takes creativity and aggressiveness in deal making. [I give] Joe, Howie and Alonzo great credit. I couldn’t be happier.”
Head Coach Andy Reid’s opening remarks:
“I’m not going to repeat what Jeffrey just said, but I feel all those same things. One thing I would like to reiterate to everybody is that this is Asante’s day. I want to make that very clear, that we don’t go out of bounds and talk about other players other than Asante. If you guys could help us out with that, I would appreciate it.”
CB Asante Samuel’s opening remarks:
“First of all, I would like to thank the Lord for the blessings he has bestowed upon me and my family. Today is an exciting day for my family and me. I want to thank the whole Eagles staff for getting this done, my agent, Alonzo Shavers, for getting it done. I’m happy to be an Eagle, and I’m ready to get it rolling.”
On why this was his first visit:
“My agent and I wrote down a number of teams that we would be interested in. The Philadelphia Eagles were definitely one of them at the top of our list. It has always been a winning organization and they’ve had a lot of history here. The fans have always been supportive of their team. I just want a chance to be able to win and get back to the Super Bowl. That’s why I picked the Philadelphia Eagles.”
On what he knows about the Eagles scheme and how he will fit in:
“What I know the most is that it’s an aggressive defense and they like to get after the quarterback. [Last year], our offense played against them first hand, when we played them in the regular season. They gave us some trouble on offense. They were pressuring and getting after the quarterback and playing an aggressive style of defense. I think I fit right in.”
On whether he felt like the Eagles weren’t going to let him leave without signing:
“That’s what the rumor is. This is my first time being a free agent. They say that your first visit, they normally don’t let you leave. That’s what ended up happening and it’s a great situation.”
On whether he came here with the intention of not leaving:
“No, I came here with an open mind. Everybody was great. Everybody treated me like I belong here and like I’m wanted. I’m really happy with that. I’m just happy and excited.”
On what his impression of the Eagles was before he came here:
“It’s a winning organization, and I always knew that. That was my first impression. As I watched them on defense, it looked like they were having a lot of fun out there. I am going to fit right in and make plays and do what I do.”
On the leadership that he will bring to Philadelphia:
“I’m going to bring a winning attitude, coming from my first five seasons in the NFL that have always been winning situations. I’m going to come here and be a role model, work hard, give it my all, and give them what they deserve.”
On whether he considered staying in New England for less money:
“I definitely considered that, but I understand that this is a business. Everybody handles their business in their own way. I just had to go with what I felt was best for my family and me. Everybody is happy, and hopefully I made my mama proud.”
On how he has been able to be such a playmaker on defense:
“Aren’t you guys supposed to tell me that? I just go out and play my technique. I’ve had a lot of good coaches over the years. It started in college with Gene Chizik, [who is now] the head coach of Iowa State. I just play technique, I play sound football, I read my keys, I play with a rhythm, which helps me out, and I like to read the quarterback. That’s just my style.”
Andy Reid
On what made Samuel his number one priority:
“Obviously, I think the cornerback position is very important. When you have an opportunity to get the best one in the business, then you need to look at that. I welcome him aboard, and I know [defensive coordinator] Jim Johnson has great plans for Asante. I could easily see him doing what we do on defense when he was on the Patriots.”
On how Samuel will fit into the secondary:
“He will be the starting left cornerback, and then we’ll work things out from there.”
Asante Samuel
On whether he was concerned about the fact that the Eagles already have two cornerbacks signed to long-term contracts:
“No, that didn’t affect me at all. If they’re bringing me in, I figure they’re bringing me in to help the team out. I’m not looking forward to anybody leaving or anything like that; I’m just looking forward to playing and having one of the best secondaries in the NFL.”
On whether he knows, or has talked to, Eagles CBs Lito Sheppard or Sheldon Brown:
“I’ve talked to Lito before. I don’t think Sheldon and I have met, or anything like that. Like I said, I think whoever is out there, we will do a good job. This organization has a history of having good defensive backs. I just want to be a part of that.”
On what made him decide to sign with the Eagles:
“Just the welcome they gave me. From the time that I entered the limo from off the plane, I just felt good about the situation. I prayed about it, the business side of it got done and I’m happy; I’m ready to get it rolling.”
On whether the treatment was more than he expected:
“I didn’t really know what to expect. I just came in with an open mind and I felt good about it and I made my decision and we talked about it, me and my agent, and we prayed about it and the job was done.”
On why he didn’t visit any other teams:
“When you come to one that makes you happy, why wait around?”
On what he did today:
“How did the day go? We did a lot of running around; physicals and things of that nature. A lot of busy work, basically, meeting everybody, touring the facility, riding around town. It was a good day.”
On whether he felt underappreciated in New England:
“No comment.”
Jeff Lurie
On what this move shows the fans of the team’s approach to 2008:
“I think it’s the same approach that we always take. We hope in free agency that there’s a player that’s very special that’s available at a position we need or regard as a premium position. Sometimes it happens, and sometimes you have a market where you don’t have those premium players and you have to make a decision to go after somebody and pay them a tremendous amount of money for not very much production. The aggressiveness is always there, it’s just a question of the marketplace sometimes. That’s why we focused on Asante, because this was a relatively small group of very valuable free agents. The tendency increasingly is to re-sign your best young players. You see that across the league so it’s rare and there weren’t very many that we had an option to go for. I hope it does show that we’re aggressive and that all we care about is winning.”
Andy Reid
On how close the team is to having a dominant defense again:
“I think Asante will be a big part of that. We take a lot of pride in how we play defense here; the aggressive, reckless approach that we take. [Defensive coordinator] Jim [Johnson] does a heck of a job coordinating the defense and, obviously, the more great defensive players that you add into the mix the better you’ll be. Asante is a great player and he’ll make great plays for us.”
Asante Samuel
On whether playing under the franchise tag last season affected him:
“Playing under the franchise tag, it is what it is. You just have to try to block it out of your mind. Just go out and play and let the business part take care of itself. And it will, eventually it will and it has. You just have to go out there with faith and believe and everything should be alright.”
On whether he has recovered from the Super Bowl loss:
“It’s pretty hard. We didn’t get it done, the [New York] Giants did. It is what it is. Life goes on. I’m an Eagle now, and hopefully we can get to a championship.”
Andy Reid: “He’ll have a chance to recover from it twice this year” (jokingly, that the Eagles will play the NY Giants twice in 2008).
Jeff Lurie
On the similarities between this offseason and the 2004 offseason:
“I think we enter every free agency period hoping to make a big impact. It’s not to make a splash, it’s to try and find the most productive players; and there’s such a scarcity of them. When we did that four years ago with [WR Terrell] Owens and [DE Jevon] Kearse, we regarded them as terrific players that could make a big impact. I think sometimes people will say that it’s hit or miss at times when you make an impactful signing. I never want to be the type of organization, or owner, that doesn’t keep reloading and going for it because, to me, you’re always going to have a chance to make mistake by taking risks. Keep going for it, be aggressive. If you miss on a draft choice don’t be hesitant to take that position again. Be very aggressive and read the marketplace right, such that you can get the players who are that scarce on the marketplace.”
Andy Reid
On whether Samuel was the one player the team just had to have:
“We’re obviously trying to strengthen the defense. [General Manager] Tom [Heckert] and his crew work like crazy to make sure that Jim’s given the players that he needs to be successful, and that the team needs to be successful. Tom had targeted Asante and that allowed us to review all the film—which we didn’t have to go all that far to do, since we played him and he had a couple interceptions against us—and we decided that if he does stay available, and we get to this date then we are going to go after him. [Vice President of Football Administration] Howie [Roseman] and [President] Joe [Banner] did a great job in the negotiations today and [Samuel’s agent] Alonzo [Shavers] was aggressive and Joe was aggressive and it worked out. It was an awesome thing to watch in a very short period of time. We’re fired up to have him.”
Asante Samuel
On whether he has earned respect at the cornerback position:
“There is no doubt about it, in my mind. Just going out and working hard every day, being a fourth rounder, you’re not going to be given anything in this league. I just worked my way up and kept working hard and I’m finally getting the respect that I deserve.”
On how many teams were on his list:
“About four.”
On whether New England made him an offer:
“I’m not going to get into that.”
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