Murph and Mac interviewed Greg Cosell about Nnamdi Asomugha and Colt McCoy Wednesday morning on KNBR. Here’s what Cosell said
Q: The 49ers just signed Nnamdi Asomugha. Can you evaluate him as a Raider, and then what did the film say about him as an Eagle?
COSELL: I don’t think the Raider stuff is particularly relevant right now. I think what’s relevant is that over the last two years, he was a declining player. Think about the NFL: Is it a passing league right now? What is one of the positions that is of premium importance in the NFL? There are two, pass rusher and corner. You’ve got to rush the quarterback and you’ve got to cover. So, if a corner is on the market and he’s a high-level corner, No.1 he’s going to get picked up quickly and he’s going to get paid a lot of money.
Nnamdi Asomugha was on the market. He did not get picked up quickly and he signed a one year deal and there’s no guaranteed money. You don’t need me to tell you this. These are facts.
I’ve seen the film, and he’s a declining player, but I was also told at the Combine by numerous people that he hasn’t been a good player for three years.
I think what you’re dealing with is a 49ers team that would like to get better at the corner position and they brought in another body.
Q: What do you think of Colt McCoy
COSELL: Obviously, he does not have a very strong arm, so a lot of people would immediately say, gee, why would you sign McCoy? You’ve got Kaepernick, who has a cannon for an arm and can make big-time throws and, quite frankly, that’s the reason he started playing over Alex Smith.
The thing about McCoy is he played out of the spread at Texas, and I think the Nines have incorporated a lot of spread concepts into their offense. McCoy’s comfortable with those. If he had to play, he can run that portion of their offense. Is he going to drill a strike 25 yards down the field on a line? No, he can’t do that. He’s not capable of that. But I think if he had to play, you still have a certain part of the playbook that the 49ers feel very good about and he can run very effectively.
Q: Is he a mobile QB?
COSELL: He’s mobile in that he can throw on the run. I don’t think he’s going to run the ball out of read option or Pistol because he’s a little guy, he’s going to get hurt. He’s a frail looking guy. If you’re going to run the read option, your quarterback needs to be a viable running threat, otherwise you don’t get the defensive response that you’re looking for. And I’m not sure that McCoy is a viable running threat.
Q: How would you evaluate his play on the Browns?
COSELL: Because there are limitations with his arm strength, I think there are always limitations with his game, and ultimately that’s why he’s an NFL backup. Keep in mind we’re talking about an NFL backup here. He was traded to be an NFL backup. That’s what he is.
He was at his best in Cleveland when he was under center in run formations, run personnel, and he threw play action which defined the reads, gave him more clarity, gave him easier throws. Now, that’s part of the 49ers’ offense as well. He can run a lot of the things they do, but he’s a limited arm strength guy and that’s why he’s a backup.
Q: Sounds like some of the same things you’ve said about Alex Smith. Why do you think the Chiefs were so interested in Smith?
COSELL: The Chiefs don’t have a bad team. Andy Reid didn’t want to be in a situation where the quarterback was the albatross around the neck of the team. Say what you want about Alex Smith, he is a very efficient player who does not turn the ball over. He will not hurt your team. We know he has limitations, Jim Harbaugh already told us that. We don’t need to have that discussion again. Ultimately, Smith is an efficient, quality NFL starter who is not going to bring your team down. And that’s what Andy Reid wanted.
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