Nnamdi Asomugha's finest work came during his first eight seasons with the Oakland Raiders. His debut with the Philadelphia Eagles last year was a mixed bag, but the two-time All-Pro cornerback has no desire to return to his old stomping grounds.
"It's true. The 8-8 in Oakland? We were perennially the last team in the AFC West," he told WIP in Philadelphia, via SportsRadioInterviews.com. "We would win maybe two games a year or four games a year. When we got to 8-8 and it was like, 'Wow!' There is so much improvement. You're not excited you didn't make the playoffs, but you're excited that we were moving in the right direction.
"I love how different that is over here because 8-8 is not acceptable. It doesn't matter where you have come from. 8-8 should always be we are playing below where we should be playing. Out here that is the mentality. 8-8 shouldn't be anywhere near what we are thinking. That was great."
The fine people of Oakland might disagree.
It's an easy dig on Asomugha's old team. There's a fair amount of optimism in Philadelphia right now, and maybe some of it is deserved. The Eagles have reloaded the roster, on defense and Andy Reid has acknowledged last year's mistakes. Another 8-8 record is something they hope to avoid, but that's probably true in Oakland, too.