Asante Samuel got hit Fourth of July fireworks started early Saturday morning with a negative tweet about NFL Hall-of-Famer Darrell Green.
The former Pro Bowler with the Patriots and the Eagles had a fine 11-year NFL career. He is a Super Bowl champion himself. But his out-of-nowhere tweets about Green, one of the NFL's all-time great corners, were just…weird.
With all do respect can someone explain to me why Darrell Green is considered a great? He played 19 years and was mostly a nickel back. 54 INT's in 19 years. Talk to me????
— Asante Samuel (@pick_six22) July 4, 2020
Green was a dominant player on two Super Bowl champions, a seven-time Pro Bowler and an All-Pro in 1991. He was one of the fastest players in the league, a fearsome punt returner when necessary in playoff games and an all-around great player. Even other players from Samuel's era were confused, including former Redskins safety Will Blackmon.
Guys like Revis and DG were assigned match up and take that player out of the game.
— Will Blackmon 🍷 (@WillBlackmon) July 4, 2020
Maybe they didn't get much action. Especially in press you don't have eyes on the QB.
We literally have coverages now were we bait qbs and we call it "Asante technique" lol.
That's a pretty accurate description of the differences between Samuel's era and the way the game was played when Green was at his peak. Maybe he stuck around too long and maybe he wasn't close to the player he'd once been by the late 90s and early 2000s.
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But peak Darrell Green was an unquestioned Hall-of-Fame player. Teams didn't throw at him for a reason. When they did, they paid for it. Samuel got a little aggressive for a guy who might have cost the Pats an extra Super Bowl.
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Tony Dungy, himself a great player and a Super Bowl champion as a player AND a coach, clapped back at Samuel for his ignorance of NFL history.
Asante while you played some great football in the 2000's you obviously don't know much about football that was played in the 80s & 90s. Darrell Green played on the outside, not as a nickel. He traveled with the best receiver and was a TOP ECHELON CB for almost 2 decades!! https://t.co/2ia3O7H6N2
— Tony Dungy (@TonyDungy) July 5, 2020
That about says it all.
For his part, Samuel doubled down responding to some tweets but by the afternoon he was starting to see the light. Sort of.
6 post season INTs that is pretty good/great and 2 TD's. I saw something that said they didn't throw the ball as much... that's a good point. Speed doesn't mean much. The longer you play the more productivity you should have. I am only comparing him and all of us to recent and https://t.co/1mELssggmQ
— Asante Samuel (@pick_six22) July 4, 2020
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Former Patriot and Eagle Pro Bowler Asante Samuel takes shot at Darrell Green originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
