In defense of Albert Haynesworth

[dmek25]

where is it written that the highest paid player on the team also has to be a leader? that's something you have, or don't have. money doesn't = leadership( as much as Donald Trump wants people to believe)

[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.

[Frost]

Originally Posted by FRPLG

I still don't get the point. So he's mouthy. So what? To me he's right...they told them they'd let him play and they aren't. That's what Blache does. He subverts players abilities in the name of his scheme. All hail the mighty scheme. "Let's sand these square pegs to fit in the round hole scheme I have". AH is right and I don't care if he's mouthy. If he starts getting mouthy about something that isn't right then I'll care. And I'll reiterate. I'll take 53 guys who get pissy when the team sucks...we haven't had enough players who get pissy when we suck.

Couldn't agree more, Big Al is a beast. One of the post replies stated that in the cowboys game there was no double team on him, I'm not sure what game were you watching because I saw a bunch of plays where he had 2 and 3 guys blocking him and it has been like this pretty much all the season. Seriously what more can you ask of a guy that plays in BLACHE'S scheme ? how many plays have you guys seen where Blache makes it seem that he is going to blitz but then drops everyone back to prevent "the big play" and all you have is 3 guys rushing. It's bull and I'm glad he is speaking out on the fact that Blatche's scheme sucks a**. He easily could have cashed in and just be another guy on the team instead he speaks out on the subject that many of us have been complaining about for a while now and he gets scrutinized. When he was brought in, Blache was giving statements left and right about how we are not going to change the style big Al played with the Titans and we are going to maximize his potential basically painting a picture of the Redskins D unleashing hell on everyone this season. Isn't that the reason AH SIGNED with us in the 1st place ? It was not about the money because he could have gone to Tampa and get payed more, it was the bullshit that was feed to him about how the D was going to create havoc so no wonder he is pissed. Either way Blache will be gone and I hope the new coach will bring out the best in our ENTIRE defense. AH is money and i hope he stays with the Skins for a long time.

[sportscurmudgeon]

Frost:

Where did you hear/read that Tampa offered more than $100M for Haynesworth last year?

What I've heard is that the only other serious offer he had was from Tennessee and it had a total value of $80-82M but also had things like weight clauses and other "penalty clauses" in it. The Skins outbid a contract that Haynesworth would never sign by about 25% demonstrating the great money management and fiscal responsibility we have come to recognize as typical of this franchise. Next time you go to FedEx Field and pay $35 to park your car, smile because you are helping to keep that beast of a DT - who plays hard about half the time - here in DC.

Haynesworth came here for the $$$. Like it or not, that is why 90% of the free agents who sign here do that. Right after Portis signed, he said that he got calls from some of his buds from "The U" and he told them to have their agents contact Danny Boy so they could get paid like he got paid.

Here is a rule that holds true at least 95% of the time when it comes to free agents in sports today:

It is ALWAYS about the money

[SmootSmack]

“I could have made more money with Tampa Bay if I really wanted to. That’s positive,” Haynesworth told The SIRIUS Blitz. “They offered me a whole lot more, and then even with their tax situation, it could have been 20 percent more.”

NFL.com Blogs » Blog Archive Haynesworth: Bucs offered more than Redskins «

[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