Which Play By A Veteran Eagles Cornerback Was More Worthy Of Our Scorn?

For all the talk of the inexperienced players and rookies who've taken the field for the Eagles on defense the last two weeks, it's worth noting that the Eagles' normally dependable (if not extraordinary) veteran cornerbacks were responsible for two catastrophic defensive plays in the consecutive losses. 

Against Dallas, Sheldon Brown fell for a double move against Miles Austin and surrendered the go-ahead touchdown.  Against San Diego, Asante Samuel was seduced into thinking the ball wasn't coming his way by Philip Rivers and gave up the final score to Legedu Naanee. 

Both plays were examples of poor judgment by players who should probably know better.  But which was worse?  Tough call.  The case against each:   

Sheldon Brown versus Tony Romo and Miles Austin

See here for a link to the video of the play.

The case against: on a third-down play, Sheldon Brown tried to jump a fake slant route that was already covered, and ended up surrendering not only the first down but the game's decision touchdown.  Sheldon had an interception on the brain instead of simply defending the first down, something that is understandable for a rookie but not for a veteran like Brown.   

Adding insult to injury: said touchdown was surrendered to alleged wunderkind Miles Austin.  Also, it was against the Cowboys.  At home.  On national television. 

Conspiracy theory: Sheldon Brown knows that interceptions earn him big contract dollars and not smart plays on third down. 

In Sheldon's defense: though he bit on the slant and surrendered a completion, Quintin Mikell and Sean Jones didn't exactly do a stellar job of tackling Austin either -- this didn't need to be a touchdown. 

Asante Samuel versus Philip Rivers and Legedu Naanee

See here for a link to the video of the play (about the 1:08 mark). 

The case against: Asante Samuel was completely and obviously watching Philip Rivers' head instead of his man, and didn't for a moment think that the ball would go to his side of the field to the relatively unknown Naanee.  For a guy who's been accused of peering into the backfield and gambling a bit, this was Exhibit A for the prosecution.     

Adding insult to injury: those seven points were the last touchdown the Chargers would score.  With all the backups in the secondary, you don't expect this sort of mistake from the lone uninjured veteran.    

Conspiracy theory: Asante had long since deprioritized thinking about coverage in favor of planning how to avoid conflict on the next running play. 

In Asante's defense: the Eagles offense hadn't scored a touchdown at this point, so perhaps it was worth gambling and trying to make a big play.  Wait.  That doesn't make any sense at all.  Yeah, I don't know how to defend this one.  Rivers did a good job with the fake?  I dunno.   

Aight, time to vote: