The Philadelphia Eagles want to finish the 2011 season on a high note. They will have that chance when they take on the Washington Redskins on Sunday, January 1. The Eagles are seeking their fourth straight win in a season that has been mostly disappointing. As an Eagles fan, I plan on watching this game to see how the team finishes. I would hope most fans would watch the game as well. It doesn’t really mean anything, but it is one last chance to see the Eagles this season. After this game, all of the questions begin.

The Eagles already beat the Redskins once this season. They are 4-1 against opponents from the NFC East. Washington is easily the worst team in the division so Philadelphia should have no problem winning this game. For fans, the final score doesn’t really matter. Eagles fans are smart enough to know that finishing 8-8 or 7-9 really isn’t that different if it doesn’t involve a playoff berth. Instead, the focus should be on how each player looks on the field. I want to see if the defensive line remains aggressive. I want to see if the secondary can be strong with Asante Samuel out of the game. Offensively, I want to see if DeSean Jackson can prove he belongs here in 2012. I also want to see if Michael Vick can put together a strong game.

These are the kinds of things that fans should look at in this game. As I said, the season ends after this game and soon it will be time to start thinking about the draft and free agency. But with one more game to watch, we can still think about football. The Eagles should win this game, but it won’t save their season. Instead, it is about building for 2012. Some of these players won’t be back with the Eagles in 2012. Others are hoping to land bigger roles with the team. The players should think of this is one final audition for next season. This kind of disappointment won’t stand for another season.

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Read More: Asante Samuel (CB – PHI), Trevor Laws (DT – PHI), LeSean McCoy (RB – PHI), Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins

Philadelphia Eagles running back LeSean McCoy (ankle) is listed as questionable for his team’s game against the Washington Redskins on Sunday, but he did participate fully in practice according to the team’s final injury report of the week released on Friday.

Meanwhile, cornerback Asante Samuel has been ruled out by the team with a hamstring injury. He did not practice with his teammates on Friday.

Tackle Todd Herrmans (ankle) and defensive tackle Trevor Laws (knee) are listed as probable and were full participants in Friday practice.

McCoy ran for 126 yards and a touchdown against the Redskins back on Oct. 10. He has 1,309 yards and 17 touchdowns this season and was named to his first Pro Bowl earlier this week.

For more on the Redskins, please visit Hogs Haven, SB Nation’s Redskins blog. For the perspective from the other side, please visit SB Nation Philly and Bleeding Green Nation, SB Nation’s Eagles blog.

By By Jeff Mclane, The Philadelphia Inquirer (MCT)

PHILADELPHIA — Asante Samuel did not practice with the Eagles for the second straight day, putting his availability for Saturday’s game at Dallas very much in question.

Eagles coach Andy Reid said Samuel tried to run on his strained hamstring Tuesday, but that the cornerback felt sore afterward and was subsequently held out from Wednesday’s and Thursday’s sessions.

“Asante is still a little sore, and we’ll just see how he does here over the next couple days,” Reid said.

Because of the short work week, Thursday was the last strenuous practice before the Eagles board a flight Friday afternoon. There will be a light walk-through in the morning at which point the team will decide whether or not Samuel is fit enough to travel.

The Eagles aren’t required to release their official injury report for the Cowboys game until Friday.

If Samuel can’t go, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie will make his first start at left cornerback. Rodgers-Cromartie did start against Buffalo in October, but that was as the nickel cornerback, where he’s played most of the season.

Rodgers-Cromartie, who was acquired in the trade with Arizona for Kevin Kolb during training camp, filled in for Samuel when he left in the second quarter of Sunday’s game vs. the New York Jets.

“That’s where he’s played over the years,” Reid said. “We worked him as an inside player, and I thought he was getting better every week with that, but his natural spot, where he feels the most comfortable, is on the outside.

“He’s looked good; he’s done a nice job. He doesn’t have a problem doing it.”

Samuel attended the first part of Wednesday’s and Thursday’s practices, taking mental repetitions at certain points. Reid was asked if the 30-year-old Samuel, because of his experience, could play despite the lack of preparation this week.

“Yeah, he knows what we’re doing,” Reid said.

Samuel hasn’t missed a game this season, but the possibility of his not being ready by Saturday’s 4:15 p.m. kickoff is one of the scenarios the Eagles had in mind when they decided to keep three starting-caliber cornerbacks this season.

“We have this many talented corners on the team so we can fit people in when somebody goes down, if need be,” said Nnamdi Asomugha, the third component of that triumvirate. “I don’t think every team has that to their advantage.”

Rodgers-Cromartie missed three games in late November and early December due to a high-ankle sprain. Joselio Hanson replaced him in the nickel and has pretty much stayed in the slot even though Rodgers-Cromartie has been healthy the last two games.

Rodgers-Cromartie, who wasn’t available for comment Thursday, had never played the nickel before this season, and it has showed often.

PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Nnamdi Asomugha was headed for Broadway when the
Philadelphia Eagles swooped in at the last minute and stole the All-Pro
cornerback from the New York Jets.

Too bad for him there are no do-overs in free agency.

Asomugha chose the Eagles over the Jets, thinking he could help the
defending NFC East champions reach the Super Bowl. That won’t happen this year.

The Eagles (5-8) are clinging to slim playoff hopes entering Sunday’s game
against New York (8-5). Maybe Asomugha should’ve picked that other team in green
instead.

“No, I don’t regret it at all,” Asomugha said. “The thing that has been
very difficult is not winning. I think the tough part about that is the fact
that the expectations were really high coming into it. Even if my expectations
were realistic, the expectations that were out there, I think, I kind of let
that get to me, as well, the expectations of everything will be and must be
perfect with this team now that they’ve acquired these players and blah, blah,
blah.

“I always have a realistic approach to it, but I kind of let that seep
through and then that made the losing of it all a little bit tougher, a little
bit more difficult to deal with. But no, I have never, have not and will not
regret it. Our story still isn’t over yet, so there is always something to learn
and we’re still fighting. That’s pretty much where I stand with that.”

The Eagles stunned the football world when they signed Asomugha to a $60
million, five-year contract shortly after the NFL’s lockout ended in July. A day
earlier, the Eagles had acquired two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Dominique
Rodgers-Cromartie in a trade from Arizona.

Asomugha, Rodgers-Cromartie and Asante Samuel, a four-time Pro Bowl pick,
were expected to form the best cornerback trio in the league. But they haven’t
come close to fulfilling those expectations.

Part of the problem for Asomugha has been fitting into a different defensive
scheme than the one he excelled in for years in Oakland. Defensive coordinator
Juan Castillo, who switched from coaching the offensive line, gave Asomugha far
more responsibilities than he was used to with the Raiders.

“It’s been completely different from what I was doing in Oakland,”
Asomugha said. “Obviously, in Oakland, when I was there it was about just
finding a guy, matching up with him and playing him one-on-one pretty much the
whole game. It’s just completely different than with the one-on-ones and
putting in some new things.

“He has also been just moving me around the field. He’s wanted me to be
sometimes the corner, wanted me to be sometimes the nickel, he’s wanted me to
play a rover, sometimes a free safety, and there are some challenges with that
because you basically have to learn the scheme and the coverages for every
single position that you have to play. That’s where I think that the biggest
challenge has come in, is knowing how you fit based off each call, depending on
what position you’re playing. Then, he has some different techniques that he has
guys playing.”

Perhaps things would’ve been different if Asomugha had picked the Jets. With
star cornerback Darrelle Revis shadowing the opponent’s top receiver on one
side, Asomugha may have been left alone to play man coverage against the No. 2
guy.

Jets coach Rex Ryan called Asomugha once the free agency period opened and
went after him hard during the recruiting process.

“I really liked the staff there in New York,” Asomugha said. “I was
really close with Rob Ryan, so I know that Rex, being his twin, would be very
similar to him. During the 48 hours or whatever it was that we were able to
talk, they were saying some really great things. I liked how the defense played.
They were doing a lot of the things that I had done throughout my career, so
there wouldn’t be much adjusting or anything like that. I was really close.”

Then, the Eagles called.

“The Eagles came in that 11th hour or whatever it was,” Asomugha said.
“All along, I had always admired the Eagles. They were always the team that, if
they were involved, that was where I wanted to be. At the end there, they did,
they came in, so I managed to flip back to how I was thinking in the
beginning.”

Asomugha spoke with Eagles quarterback Michael Vick and wide receiver DeSean
Jackson at the Pro Bowl last January. He knew several other players on the team
and was impressed with the way they talked about the organization.

“Obviously, no one is going to say anything disparaging about their
organization, but everything they were saying, I just took it to heart and
really liked it,” Asomugha said.

Asomugha chose the Eagles over the Jets, thinking he could help the defending NFC East champions reach the Super Bowl. That won’t happen this year.

The Eagles (5-8) are clinging to slim playoff hopes entering Sunday’s game against New York (8-5). Maybe Asomugha should’ve picked that other team in green instead.

“No, I don’t regret it at all,” Asomugha said. “The thing that has been very difficult is not winning. I think the tough part about that is the fact that the expectations were really high coming into it. Even if my expectations were realistic, the expectations that were out there, I think, I kind of let that get to me, as well, the expectations of everything will be and must be perfect with this team now that they’ve acquired these players and blah, blah, blah.

“I always have a realistic approach to it, but I kind of let that seep through and then that made the losing of it all a little bit tougher, a little bit more difficult to deal with. But no, I have never, have not and will not regret it. Our story still isn’t over yet, so there is always something to learn and we’re still fighting. That’s pretty much where I stand with that.”

The Eagles stunned the football world when they signed Asomugha to a $60 million, five-year contract shortly after the NFL’s lockout ended in July. A day earlier, the Eagles had acquired two-time Pro Bowl cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie in a trade from Arizona.

Asomugha, Rodgers-Cromartie and Asante Samuel, a four-time Pro Bowl pick, were expected to form the best cornerback trio in the league. But they haven’t come close to fulfilling those expectations.

Part of the problem for Asomugha has been fitting into a different defensive scheme than the one he excelled in for years in Oakland. Defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, who switched from coaching the offensive line, gave Asomugha far more responsibilities than he was used to with the Raiders.

“It’s been completely different from what I was doing in Oakland,” Asomugha said. “Obviously, in Oakland, when I was there it was about just finding a guy, matching up with him and playing him one-on-one pretty much the whole game. It’s just completely different than with the one-on-ones and putting in some new things.

“He has also been just moving me around the field. He’s wanted me to be sometimes the corner, wanted me to be sometimes the nickel, he’s wanted me to play a rover, sometimes a free safety, and there are some challenges with that because you basically have to learn the scheme and the coverages for every single position that you have to play. That’s where I think that the biggest challenge has come in, is knowing how you fit based off each call, depending on what position you’re playing. Then, he has some different techniques that he has guys playing.”

Perhaps things would’ve been different if Asomugha had picked the Jets. With star cornerback Darrelle Revis shadowing the opponent’s top receiver on one side, Asomugha may have been left alone to play man coverage against the No. 2 guy.

Jets coach Rex Ryan called Asomugha once the free agency period opened and went after him hard during the recruiting process.

“I really liked the staff there in New York,” Asomugha said. “I was really close with Rob Ryan, so I know that Rex, being his twin, would be very similar to him. During the 48 hours or whatever it was that we were able to talk, they were saying some really great things. I liked how the defense played. They were doing a lot of the things that I had done throughout my career, so there wouldn’t be much adjusting or anything like that. I was really close.”

Then, the Eagles called.

“The Eagles came in that 11th hour or whatever it was,” Asomugha said. “All along, I had always admired the Eagles. They were always the team that, if they were involved, that was where I wanted to be. At the end there, they did, they came in, so I managed to flip back to how I was thinking in the beginning.”

Asomugha spoke with Eagles quarterback Michael Vick and wide receiver DeSean Jackson at the Pro Bowl last January. He knew several other players on the team and was impressed with the way they talked about the organization.

“Obviously, no one is going to say anything disparaging about their organization, but everything they were saying, I just took it to heart and really liked it,” Asomugha said.

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