Former potential ally Asomugha now a rival

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Darrelle Revis was part of the Jets' offseason pursuit of Nnamdi Asomugha, talking up his good friend and letting everyone know he had zero qualms about splitting the spotlight with a fellow All-Pro cornerback.

Wednesday, though, as the Jets prepared for Sunday's game with the Eagles, their first against Asomugha since he spurned them for the City of Cheesesteaks, Revis wasn't all that interested in chatting about him.

"The situation, it already played out," Revis said. "Nnamdi is with Philly and he's not here. So that's the only thing I've really got to say about that, is he is not with us. I haven't really been paying attention to Nnamdi and actually what Philly has been doing this whole season until now.''

Perhaps Revis is still a bit ticked Asomugha jilted the Jets. They heavily courted Asomugha once the free-agent frenzy began in July after the lockout, and Rex Ryan said the Jets made an offer to Asomugha and never increased the monetary value.

Asomugha said Wednesday he was "really close" to signing with the Jets, nearly jumping at the chance to play for Ryan and alongside Revis. But the Eagles swooped into the picture at the last minute and Asomugha inked a five-year, $60-million deal, forcing the Jets to go back to Antonio Cromartie and sign him to a four-year, $32-million pact.

"I really liked the staff there in New York," Asomugha said. "During those 48 hours or whatever it was that we were able to talk, they were saying some really great things. I was really close and the Eagles came in at that 11th hour. I had always admired the Eagles and they were always the team that, if they were involved, that was where I wanted to be."

Asomugha hasn't exactly had a stellar season with the 5-8 Eagles, however. Although he has three interceptions, he's been badly beaten at times and teams actually have picked on him, making him look little like the four-time All-Pro who excelled on a bad team in Oakland.

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"You see a couple of highlights where he makes some interceptions, but then again he makes some mistakes," linebacker Bart Scott said. "But that's anybody. I think out in Oakland, he had the invincible status, and he's still one of the greatest corners in our game. Whatever he does or doesn't do is blown out of proportion because he's become super high profile."

Asomugha attributes his slow transition to schematics, indicating he's doing different things than he did in his eight seasons with the Raiders. He's also been asked by defensive coordinator Juan Castillo to play nickel back, free safety and even act as a rover.

"I think that's where the biggest challenge has come in," Asomugha said, "just knowing how you fit in based on each call, and then he has some different techniques he has guys playing. You kind of had to learn it during games."

Still, Asomugha is certain he made the right choice.

"I don't regret it at all," he said. "The thing that has been very difficult has been not winning, and I think the tough part about that is the expectations were really high coming into it. And even if my expectations were realistic, the expectations that were out there, I think I let that get to me as well.

"The expectations of 'everything will be and must be perfect with this team now that they've [added] these players, blah, blah, blah.' But I kind of let that seep through and that made losing a little bit more difficult to deal with. But no, I have not and I will not regret it. Our story still isn't over yet."