In defense of Albert Haynesworth

[sportscurmudgeon]

Anyone who tries to argue that Albert Haynesworth is not a good DT is nuts. He is one of the best in the NFL - - when he plays hard. When he does not play hard, he is sub-standard. That is what you see if you focus on the line play during actual games.

Let me try to pose a question here for folks who have watched Redskins' games:

In 2008, the Redskins' defense was certainly better than average in the league. Forget stats for a moment; just recall what you saw on the field compared to other defenses last year. The Skins were not the best but they were better than many other teams.


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


There were two significant additions to the defense from 08 to 09 - - Brian Orakpo and Albert Haynesworth.


There were a couple of injuries in 09, but not any that involved the removal of Pro Bowl level talent.

So, riddle me this:

If you take a really good DT - - some would say a monster who is the best DT in the NFL - - and add him to a very good defense and don't change coaching or scheme, how come the Redskins' defense in 2009 is not a dominant one?

Why doesn't this year's defense simply shut down 90% of the offenses that dare to take the field against it?

Why doesn't the 09 defense do what the Ravens defense did in 02 or what the Steel Curtain used to do in the 70s - - win games by itself sometimes by holding teams to less than 6 points?

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.

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by sportscurmudgeon

Anyone who tries to argue that Albert Haynesworth is not a good DT is nuts. He is one of the best in the NFL - - when he plays hard. When he does not play hard, he is sub-standard. That is what you see if you focus on the line play during actual games.

Let me try to pose a question here for folks who have watched Redskins' games:

In 2008, the Redskins' defense was certainly better than average in the league. Forget stats for a moment; just recall what you saw on the field compared to other defenses last year. The Skins were not the best but they were better than many other teams.


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


There were two significant additions to the defense from 08 to 09 - - Brian Orakpo and Albert Haynesworth.


There were a couple of injuries in 09, but not any that involved the removal of Pro Bowl level talent.

So, riddle me this:

If you take a really good DT - - some would say a monster who is the best DT in the NFL - - and add him to a very good defense and don't change coaching or scheme, how come the Redskins' defense in 2009 is not a dominant one?

Why doesn't this year's defense simply shut down 90% of the offenses that dare to take the field against it?

Why doesn't the 09 defense do what the Ravens defense did in 02 or what the Steel Curtain used to do in the 70s - - win games by itself sometimes by holding teams to less than 6 points?

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.

I would argue two things:
1 - we did lose shawn springs and marcus washington, which represented a LOT of skill in our back 7, SS when healthy really was a shut down corner, and I think we miss his play a lot even sporadic as it was.

2 - not talking stats, our D didn't intimidate last year either, we are not a physical - in your face - defense. I think Orakpo and Haynesworth definitely have the possibility to bring some of that swagger here. Last year our back 7 covered the flaws of our d-line, but this year, our d-line tried to cover serious back 7 issues, such as no physical press corner, an inability to create turnovers (and points off of them), double move coverage, etc.

[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.

[mlmdub130]

Originally Posted by BigHairedAristocrat

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.

thats the unfortunate truth and i think it is very evident with the fact that not only did haynesworth say it but jason taylor said the same thing last year.

and that is also why i don't want jerry gray around next year we need a whole new philosophy on defense