Albert Haynesworth
The much talked about Washington Redskins’ defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, reportedly will not attend the coming voluntary mini-camp according to The Washington Post. This obviously does not sit well with coaches for the team and it’s possible that a trade will be attempted during, or even before, the draft. The question could – or possibly should – be asked however, if this would be the right move for Washington.
There have been rumors that Albert Haynesworth is unhappy with the idea of playing nose tackle in a 3-4 defense that the Redskins might use next season. However, according to Jay Sanzari of backsportspage.com, the two-time Pro Bowler is not as unhappy as rumors would indicate. When Haynesworth heard about Mike Shanahan being his new coach, he said, “I think it’s going to be exciting. He’s a very experienced coach, he knows how to win and he knows how to build a team. I’m excited about it. I’m glad he’s our coach. He was definitely the best one out there. I’m just ready to get back to work and see what he brings to the table.”
Of course, talk of the big man’s displeasure with the change to the 3-4 defense has been all over the wires. Word of him being placed at nose tackle resulted in indications that he was less than enthusiastic about the position change. In a Sirius Radio interview Haynesworth said, “You look at all the nose tackles in the NFL, they’re all the same type guys. Like me, I’m 6-6, 330, 340 pounds, whatever. Most of those guys are short, stubbier, pretty much stump-type guys. I don’t think I’m built to be a nose tackle, to be honest.” While that’s not a ringing endorsement of changing his role from end to nose tackle, it’s not exactly a refusal to play.
As with any storyline, there are two sides. While some were concentrating on the aforementioned quote, there were also reports that Haynesworth was willing to do what was required of him and this reporter found words from the defensive tackle to substantiate this. For instance, Jay Sanzari also quotes Haynesworth saying, “At first I was a little iffy to it” (the change from former Skins defensive coordinator Greg Blache’s 4-3 defense) “because I’ve never played in the 3-4. I don’t have a clue to how it’s really played. But then I talked to him” (new defensive coordinator, Jim Haslett) “a little bit and he plans on just playing me in the middle a little bit and at end. I guess I’ll just move around and just wreak havoc; so as long as we’re doing that and I’m not just at one position, I’m fine, I’m fine with it.”
This doesn’t sound so insubordinate to me and, when reading even more of the things that this huge defensive player had to say, makes me think that there is more to know about how he feels than is necessarily being put out there for public consumption. In the interest of fairness, let me reiterate what I found that Haynesworth said, again, reported by Jay Sanzari.
About the challenge of playing in the NFC East, one of the strongest – if not THE strongest – division in the NFL:
“It doesn’t really bother me. I’ve played against a bunch of different teams and seen schemes and stuff like that. Honestly, I see the NFC as old-school football. You know they’re going to run the ball and try to pound you and play on tricks. I’m cool with that. I like people running the ball at me. I like the physical-ness of football; I like that man on man, seeing who the best is. That’s what I love about football.”
About very rich professional athletes:
“We’re normal people. Being on TV, people start to think your Superman or something like that. I’m a normal guy. I love to shop at Walmart, one of my favorite places to go. You know, they think you’re like a celebrity, a superstar, I kind of just see it as a job. Something I love to do, I mean you should love your job. I don’t really consider myself a celebrity or a superstar or anything like that.”
One of the things that bears repeating that Sanzari said is, “Through my conversation with Haynesworth, I realized he is not the man he is made out to be by most members of the media. He is an extremely caring individual, he is down-to-earth, very talented, unselfish and surprisingly modest. These wonderful attributes of a human being are greatly deceiving to those thinking his off-the-field kindness will translate to on-the-field weakness”
While this is the opinion of one person, much of what Haynesworth has said – that has not been repeated in the news – indicates that he is not the locker-room malcontent he has been made out to be. Last year was one of the most difficult that the Washington Redskins have been through in recent history. The losing record was hard for all of us [die-hard fans!] to live through. It was obvious that it was difficult for the players as well as indicated by the things we heard them say.
Haynesworth was clearly out of shape last season and has admitted as much. His decision to work away from Ashburn this off-season is reportedly an effort to keep the same thing from happening this coming season. (see “Albert Haynesworth on the Switch to a 3-4, His Workout and Shanahan”, Jason Reid, The Washington Post, March 22, 2010).
There is little doubt that when on his game, Albert Haynesworth is a major disruption to any offense. In light of these facts, and after hearing this much maligned player say, “Whatever they ask me to do, that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m not gonna be a distraction or anything. I’m just gonna do what they ask me to do,” seems enough to warrant trying to work with the man.
Motivating Albert now that he’s on long-term, low-salary contract:
“Show up at all offseason programs and cut body fat to 18% – you’ll be LOLB. Show up at all offseason programs and cut body fat to 25% – you’ll be LDE. Show up only at mandatories and in shape – you’ll be NT. Show up out of shape and only at mandatories – you’ll be backup NT.”
There is also a chance that Fat Al is just playing along while the Skins try to trade him. If he were to come off as anything other than positive it would affect his value and how other teams may view him as they ponder adding him to their rosters.
If he is so committed etc. then why is he the only player not attending workouts and the voluntary mini-camps? Please don’t tell me they are voluntary and he is doing nothing wrong. Anyone who uses that excuse is blind, or has never held a real job before. Dude just cashed a $21 million dollar check 2 weeks ago and can’t step up for 3 days and be a leader under a new regime? You take the pay you better put in the extra effort IMO.
It seems pretty clear to me that Shanahan wants him gone and if he can get a 2010 2 and 4 or better, I think he pulls the trigger.
Couldn’t agree more with this article. Recent reports of the team’s desire to trade AH are overblown, and mostly just a way to create some fake news in between the two real news stories: the McNabb trade and the draft.
When AH was signed last year, he said over and over that he was not concerned about stats (sacks, etc). He was concerned about making guys around him better. In fact, I think at one point he said that you can measure his effectiveness based on the stats of guys who play around him. I don’t see any reason not to take him at his word.
Reports that the team badly wants to trade AH seem to be based mostly on the fact that the team discussed this possibility with the Eagles during McNabb talks, and that Shanahan/Allen asked Snyder if they would have his blessing for such a trade. Wouldn’t we expect that possibility to be explored as part of trade talks? If it isn’t at least discussed, the front office isn’t doing its job. And isn’t it standard practice for most teams to discuss that sort of thing with the owner, especially concerning an investment as large as AH? Does anyone really think that the owner wouldn’t be consulted on any team when such a large contract is involved?
As for the characterization of AH as fat and lazy, prevalent in a lot of recent stories, why do we expect any defensive lineman to play every snap? When the Giants rotate guys, reporters praise their coaches for keeping guys fresh and using the whole roster. When we rotate guys, reporters say our guys are fat and lazy. Yes, Albert gets a little tuckered sometimes, but he’s a big guy, is constantly double-teamed and he played more snaps than any other D lineman on our team except Carter. The camera is always on him when he takes a blow, so this creates the false impression that he plays fewer snaps than most guys. Yes, Albert misses games, but he has always missed games. We knew that when we signed him. He also plays hurt more than a lot of guys.