In defense of Albert Haynesworth

[BigHairedAristocrat]

Originally Posted by sportscurmudgeon

One possible answer is this one:

That great DT the Skins added doesn't play hard enough of the time to make them significantly bvetter than they were with a significantly less talented player at DT last year who went 100% on every snap.

I don't know if that is the answer - - but it is possible.

uhhh -- you ignore the facts that 1) our defensive backfield is much less talented this year than in 2008, 2) Haynesworth isnt being used properly and 3) we've got something like double the number of sacks we had last year. 4) statistically, our defense has been well above average, and nfl-leading in red zone defense for the vast majority of the season - they just don't care these past two games. wonder why...

haynesworth has dramatically improved the team's pass-rush and run stopping ability. if you watch him play, he's playing just as hard as he ever has. he's playing just as many games as he always has. he's playing as many snaps as he ever has and more snaps than any of our other defensive tackles. anyone who had reasonable expectations of him would be very pleased with his performance. you want to know the real reason our defense isn't the dominant one you want? you said it yourself. were you even paying attention to what you were saying? I'll quote it for you:

There were no significant coaching changes between 08 and 09. The dreaded "scheme" is basically the same.

Any Greg Blache-coached defense is going to look just like the ones we've seen. it doesn't matter what personnel you put in there. The scheme is designed to give the exact results we've seen it produce. its why many were not happy when Blache was "promoted" when Williams left.