PHILADELPHIA—

— Eagles quarterback Michael Vick and New York Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress, whose teams will meet Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, first played against each other in high school.

Now, deep into their pro careers, they have a lot more in common than having grown up in the state of Virginia.

Both spent two seasons out of the league while serving prison times for felonies — Vick for his role in a dogfighting ring and Burress for illegal possession of a gun that accidentally went off and delivered a bullet into his thigh in a New York nightclub in 2008.

Burress went to serve his sentence right around around the time Vick made his comeback with the Eagles in 2009.

“I would say if it wasn’t for Mike going through what he went through, maybe I wouldn’t have had a second chance,” Burress said. “A lot of people were saying he wouldn’t be able to play or perform at the level he played when he went away, and he’s proven everybody wrong.

“For me to sit there and watch the things he was doing, it gave me that hope and motivation just to keep working hard and that there’s a chance I could get back to playing at an elite level.”

Burress not-so-secretly hoped to join Vick upon his release from prison earlier this year. In fact, he wore a Phillies cap for the cameras that day. But the Eagles never made a move to sign him and the Jets did, and the rest is history.

Burress, who also spent three seasons with the New York Giants after starting his pro career in Pittsburgh, expects a typical Philly reception, but he’s looking forward to it.

“Over the years, it’s been one of those battles that I’ve had with them, two or three last-minute touchdowns to win games,” he said. “It’s just always a fun place for me, personally. I’m pretty sure the fans will boo me. But, they love me. They just don’t want to admit it. It’s going to be fun.”

Vick, meanwhile, can’t be as concerned about the reunion with Burress as he is with trying to get the Eagles, who won at Miami last week, back into a winning pattern. The team has won two games in a row just once this season, and needed a bye week between them to get it done. The Eagles also have just one home victory.

“You know, we can all change that around starting this week,” Vick said. “And we can’t do anything about the past, we can’t change it. It’s all about what we can do in the future.”

INJURY REPORT

Vick (ribs) is expected to start, along with WR Jeremy Maclin (hamstring), T Todd Herremans (ankle), DT Cullen Jenkins (groin), S Nate Allen (hamstring) and CB Nnamdi Asomugha (knee). DE Darryl Tapp (ribs) is listed as doubtful.

THE LAST WORD

Coach Andy Reid is not concerned about lack of motivation that could arise Sunday as the result of the Eagles being out of NFC East championship contention by kickoff if the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys both with their earlier games.

“No, listen,” he said, “I mentioned this on Monday, I guess it was, and Wednesday that everything is about the Jets right now. You can’t worry about anything else. You focus in on your preparation for the Jets and then you go play.”

nick.fierro@mcall.com

610-778-2243

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.

Nnamdi Asomugha(notes), now a cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles, was the New York Jets’ first choice to partner up with opposite corner Darrelle Revis(notes). When Nnamdi chose Philly, that fell through, and the Jets settled for re-signing Antonio Cromartie(notes).

An unfortunate break for the Jets? Or the greatest thing to ever happen to them?

Here’s how Antonio Cromartie sees it, via Rick Cimini at ESPN New York.

“My style of play and his style of play are totally different,” Cromartie told ESPNNewYork.com. “I feel I’m more of a playmaker than he is.”

Cromartie’s feeling pretty chuffed with himself after a two-interception game, perhaps not taking into consideration that he was playing against Luke McCown(notes). I believe that Cromartie was actually the intended receiver on about one-third of the Jaguars passing plays. The back judge left that game with three interceptions and nine passes broken up.

But, in fairness to Cromartie, he’s sort of right. I guess it comes down to how you define being a playmaker. Cromartie is responsible for more big plays, in the sense that he intercepts more passes than Asomugha and might occasionally take one to the house. He also makes more plays for his opponents, taking risks and getting himself burnt with some frequency.

But if being a playmaker is more about shutting down an opposing receiver, quietly doing your job very well and being a better all-around player, then I’d have to disagree with Cromartie.

Related: Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, Luke McCown, Nnamdi Asomugha, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – LaDainian Tomlinson looked around quizzically when asked if this year’s New York Jets were the NFL’s version of a dream team.

Tomlinson, who restructured his contract to help the Jets sign more players, then laughed and said the obvious:

“We don’t have LeBron, D-Wade or Chris Bosh on the team.”

Still, LT wasn’t dismissing the notion the Jets are among the Super Bowl favourites as the most unusual preseason in NFL history begins following the 4 1/2 month lockout. Nor was Jets coach Rex Ryan, who called this the best roster he’s had since coming to New York, holding back.

“In my mind, there’s a great opportunity for us to win and that’s the No. 1 thing, in my mind to be somewhere where we have a chance to win the Super Bowl,” Tomlinson said Monday after the team’s first workout, a slow-paced walkthrough in 90-degree temperatures. “I have said it all along (about restructuring) and this was my being able to prove the words I’ve said.”

As usual, there were lots of words escaping rapidly from Ryan and his players. Re-signed receiver Santonio Holmes echoed Ryan’s previous bold proclamations when the Jets were reaching the last two AFC championship games, and new receiver Plaxico Burress seconded the notion that this is a team on the rise.

“I’m pretty sure Coach will tell you the same thing that I’d probably tell you — we are the team to beat,” Holmes said. “But that’s for us to feel like, and that’s what we’re supposed to feel like when we go into any game, that no matter who steps on the field, you have to come and beat us because we know we’re tough.”

Added Burress, who hasn’t played since 2008 and spent much of the last two years in jail on a gun charge:

“I looked at what these guys have here. They have a great coach that everyone wants to play for in Rex. I want to be able to show loyalty from the other side and help take them to a championship.”

Ryan, sporting a new tribal-style tattoo on the side of his right calf, reiterated his belief this is the Jets’ year to win their first NFL title since the 1969 Super Bowl. He also issued a challenge to 30 other teams.

“I think we need to find someone else besides the Jets to beat the New England Patriots,” Ryan said, noting New England won the division the last two seasons, forcing the Jets to play all their playoff games on the road. “Are you good enough to beat the New England Patriots? I’m challenging the league.”

New York beat New England twice in 2010, including a second-round playoff game. To enhance their chances of overtaking the Patriots and making that final leap into the Super Bowl, several Jets reworked their contracts, allowing them to keep Holmes and cornerback Antonio Cromartie, grab Burress and even be in the sweepstakes to sign cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha until he landed in Philadelphia.

Other than Burress, the Jets’ core is relatively the same as in 2009. Ryan expects further growth from his key players, particularly Mark Sanchez, who he now calls “our leader” after making the quarterback a team captain.

“Part of it is based on what I think our leader is going to do, the strides I see him taking,” Ryan said.

Sanchez, 4-2 in playoff games, all on the road, says he welcomes the responsibility. Of course, what else would he say?

“As a third-year quarterback and team captain, it’s time to step up and convey to them what it means to be a Jet and to play like a Jet,” Sanchez said, mentioning the Yankees’ Derek Jeter as “the best captain you can think of in New York.”

“My improvement determines any kind of ceiling this team can have and our potential,” he added. “It’s time for me to step up my game.”

Notes: Ryan said recently re-signed Eric Smith will be a starter at safety opposite Jim Leonhard, replacing the departed Brodney Pool. … Burress will wear his old number, 17, a further indication WR Braylon Edwards won’t return … Cromartie was travelling early Monday and arrived just after the morning walkthrough ended. … In their flurry of weekend moves, the team signed cornerback Donald Strickland, who played for the team in 2009 but went to San Diego last season as a free agent.

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — LaDainian Tomlinson looked around quizzically when asked if this year’s New York Jets were the NFL’s version of a dream team.

Tomlinson, who restructured his contract to help the Jets sign more players, then laughed and said the obvious:

“We don’t have LeBron, D-Wade or Chris Bosh on the team.”

Still, LT wasn’t dismissing the notion the Jets are among the Super Bowl favorites as the most unusual preseason in NFL history begins following the 4½ month lockout. Nor was Jets coach Rex Ryan, who called this the best roster he’s had since coming to New York, holding back.

“In my mind, there’s a great opportunity for us to win and that’s the No. 1 thing, in my mind to be somewhere where we have a chance to win the Super Bowl,” Tomlinson said Monday after the team’s first workout, a slow-paced walkthrough in 90-degree temperatures. “I have said it all along (about restructuring) and this was my being able to prove the words I’ve said.”

As usual, there were lots of words escaping rapidly from Ryan and his players. Re-signed receiver Santonio Holmes echoed Ryan’s previous bold proclamations when the Jets were reaching the last two AFC championship games, and new receiver Plaxico Burress seconded the notion that this is a team on the rise.

“I’m pretty sure Coach will tell you the same thing that I’d probably tell you — we are the team to beat,” Holmes said. “But that’s for us to feel like, and that’s what we’re supposed to feel like when we go into any game, that no matter who steps on the field, you have to come and beat us because we know we’re tough.”

Added Burress, who hasn’t played since 2008 and spent much of the last two years in jail on a gun charge:

“I looked at what these guys have here. They have a great coach that everyone wants to play for in Rex. I want to be able to show loyalty from the other side and help take them to a championship.”

Ryan, sporting a new tribal-style tattoo on the side of his right calf, reiterated his belief this is the Jets’ year to win their first NFL title since the 1969 Super Bowl. He also issued a challenge to 30 other teams.

“I think we need to find someone else besides the Jets to beat the New England Patriots,” Ryan said, noting New England won the division the last two seasons, forcing the Jets to play all their playoff games on the road. “Are you good enough to beat the New England Patriots? I’m challenging the league.”

New York beat New England twice in 2010, including a second-round playoff game. To enhance their chances of overtaking the Patriots and making that final leap into the Super Bowl, several Jets reworked their contracts, allowing them to keep Holmes and cornerback Antonio Cromartie, grab Burress and even be in the sweepstakes to sign cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha until he landed in Philadelphia.

Other than Burress, the Jets’ core is relatively the same as in 2009. Ryan expects further growth from his key players, particularly Mark Sanchez, who he now calls “our leader” after making the quarterback a team captain.

“Part of it is based on what I think our leader is going to do, the strides I see him taking,” Ryan said.

Sanchez, 4-2 in playoff games, all on the road, says he welcomes the responsibility. Of course, what else would he say?

“As a third-year quarterback and team captain, it’s time to step up and convey to them what it means to be a Jet and to play like a Jet,” Sanchez said, mentioning the Yankees’ Derek Jeter as “the best captain you can think of in New York.”

“My improvement determines any kind of ceiling this team can have and our potential,” he added. “It’s time for me to step up my game.”

Notes: Ryan said recently re-signed Eric Smith will be a starter at safety opposite Jim Leonhard, replacing the departed Brodney Pool. … Burress will wear his old number, 17, a further indication WR Braylon Edwards won’t return … Cromartie was traveling early Monday and arrived just after the morning walkthrough ended. … In their flurry of weekend moves, the team signed cornerback Donald Strickland, who played for the team in 2009 but went to San Diego last season as a free agent.