Lesson No. 1 about Cary Williams: He’s all business, all the time.

Williams, the Eagles’ newest cornerback who signed a three-year deal Thursday, unintentionally drew some chuckles Friday in his press conference when he mentioned that he once modeled his game after Nnamdi Asomugha, one of the team’s biggest free-agent busts of all time.

He could have seen the humor in the unfavorable comparison and laughed at the irony, especially after a wisecracking TV reporter questioned how connecting to Asomugha would appeal to the fan base.

The stoic Williams barely cracked a smile.

“I don't think I connected myself at all,” Williams deadpanned. “I just said it was a guy that I looked at and his particular [success] at the time. I know he had some troubles this year. And I know it was difficult for him. But at the end of the day, [if] fans want to take me as saying that Nnamdi was the guy that I connected myself with, I definitely looked up to him and that's my opinion.
           
“He just was a guy that I happened to like. So if you take me as a joke, all right, you take me as a joke. I don't care. I'm here to win games and help my team win games as best I can, and I'm going to go out there and put on a performance each and every week.”

OK, then. Next question ...

Williams’ willingness to tackle loaded questions from reporters and fan opinions may portend his ability to tackle ball carriers, which is something Asomugha struggled with -- among other things -- in his two years in Philadelphia.

His stern comeback from a potentially embarrassing comment could also forecast success for the Eagles' pass defense. The best corners pride themselves on patrolling the outside “highway,” where getting beaten deep on occasion comes with the terrain.

The ones who can shake it off and respond the very next play are the ones who succeed over the long haul. Williams’ response to Baltimore’s lack of interest in him, even after he started all 16 games for the Super Bowl champions, was very telling.

“I was expected to leave. I knew that,” he said. “I knew that they didn't want me back, and that is their decision. No hard feelings. It's a business. I took that. Now I just want to continue my success in the NFL and move on from the Baltimore Ravens. What they do is what they decided to do. I'm an Eagle now.”

Williams’ toughness and no-frills demeanor should be a welcome addition to a defense that for the past two years had become known around the league as soft and punchless.

Williams is hardly punchless. He was fortunate not to be ejected early in the Ravens’ Super Bowl win over the 49ers after he shoved a referee while both teams were involved in a scrum.

He and Eagles wideout DeSean Jackson -- both of similarly lithe size and stature -- mixed it up during the second quarter of a Week 2 game that the Eagles won, 24-23, and were each fined by $10,000 by the NFL.

“It's football. There are two guys that were trying to help their team win,” he said. “We were frustrated at the time. It was a close game. It was a battle. And it was a hard‑fought game between us two.

“We both made a bad decision right then and it cost the team. Really it didn't, because it was offset in penalties. But I think that that situation is behind me. I think that DeSean will welcome me with open arms. I think this organization believes in me, and I look forward to building relationships with my teammates.”

Williams said he’s working hard to eliminate the emotional outbursts that cause him to incur penalties.

But the physical nature of his game is here to stay.

“I think it's very important,” he said. “Intimidation is huge in this game. I think it's one thing to intimidate, but also to go out there and play physical each and every week, week in and week out. Guys look at film, and they notice those things and take those things to heart.”