Money-bags Haynesworth isn’t what the doctor ordered
Posted by Sport.co.uk on: 09 March 2009 - 10:36
Author: Chris O'Leary
In the first big free-agency move of the National Football League off-season, the Washington Redskins signed All-Pro defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth to a seven-year $100m contract, with a league record $41m in guaranteed money.
“You’re not going to remember Albert Haynesworth as a bust,” the 27-year-old boldly proclaimed.
Maybe not – but do you know what is really sad about this, especially if you are a Redskins supporter? Even after signing this juggernaut of a defensive player, the Skins will still finish at the bottom of the NFC East and will miss the 2009 Playoffs by a large margin.
Sometimes you have to wonder how clueless some NFL team executives can be. This move – by all accounts – is profoundly stupid.
Smooth move, Redskins
I can imagine Redskins owner Dan Snyder now, who – thankfully for the job security of Executive Vice President Vinny Cerrato – orchestrated the acquisition of Haynesworth. He must have thought: “I know, lets spend an unprecedented sh-t load of money to add a top defensive player to our already good defensive and ignore the fact that the reason our team sucks ass is because of our offense.”
Nice one, Snyder. If you are going to spend $100m, make sure you are replacing your crap quarterback Jason Campbell with Tom Brady or Peyton Manning.
Don’t get me wrong: losing Haynesworth is a big blow to the Tennessee Titans, and he should have a tremendous impact on the Redskins. But a defensive tackle can only do so much… The NFL is a quarterback driven league, and if you ain’t got one, you’re going nowhere…
Haynesworth and Taylor – united?
The argument that the Redskins might have employed to defend acquiring Haynesworth for such a hefty price is that, as one of the league’s premier defensive tackles, he will be doubled and maybe even triple teamed by offensive linemen. While Haynesworth may be rendered inert in such a situation, perennial All-Pro stud Jason Taylor would be virtually unblocked and able to terrorize opposing quarterbacks…
But on Monday the Redskins cut Jason Taylor because he wanted to forgo off-season workouts to be with his family. F.Y.I. Redskins management: if you have a guy as proven, talented, and classy as Taylor and he doesn’t want to spend his Spring at your training facility, give him a damn break – especially when you have no one to replace him! His situation is a unique one, but guys like Taylor don’t need douche-bag coaches breathing down their neck.
Now that Taylor is gone, you really have to wonder at the stupidity of handing Haynesworth for such a massive contract. Without a solid wingman, Haynesworth will be effective, but not $100m effective, and certainly will be unable to give the Skins the extra push into the playoffs that missed last season. Instead of joining two great players together, they switched one for the other.
The Redskins are the worst in the NFC East
To make matters worse, even after spending $100m, the Redskins still do not even have the best defensive line in their division. The Giants – whose excellent defensive line by the practically won them the Super Bowl two seasons ago – have improved their team by acquiring former Cowboy defensive end Chris Canty. Also Pro-Bowler Osi Umenyiora will be back from his knee injury, so the Giants’ D-line might just be the best in the league next year.
Haynesworth and the Redskins might have a better chance at success if they were in a division with teams plagued by poor offensive lines, say like the NFC West. Instead the Skins are in the NFC East with the above-mentioned Giants, who they will play twice next season, and twice get their asses handed to them. If the Redskins want to penetrate the Giants’ superb offensive line, they will need a lot more than Haynesworth…
And don’t forget about the Cowboys’ offensive line, which is another top unit in the league. And let’s say that the 6’-6” 145 Kilo Haynesworth does manage to overcome the Cowboys’ offensive linemen, can you really imagine this behemoth chasing down a nibble Tony Romo? How about Donovan McNabb? Haynesworth might have a heart attack trying to catch these guys.
Redskins management graciously decided to bestow upon their team renowned cretin and defensive back DeAngelo Hall for a whopping $54m over six years when clearly no other team would have even offered half that amount.
The icing on the cake is this: in Haynesworth’s seven-year career, he has only been a dominant player for the past two seasons. Under the best circumstances it is difficult for a player in a new system to be immediately effective. But the question Redskins’ coach Jim Zorn must ask himself is, which Haynesworth will be on my roster: the mediocre one or the one who led his position with 14.5 sacks during the past two years?
Haynesworth also has a reputation to pick and choose when he wants to play hard. Injury-wise, Haynesworth once suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, which appears to fully healed. Then again, you never can tell with these things, and let us not forget that he missed has missed ten games during that past three seasons.
Having said this, Haynesworth very well might become the best defensive tackle ever who single-handedly leads his team to the Super Bowl with a 30-sack, 100-tackle season, but this is highly unlikely. One of these days Jason Campbell might even become the quarterback the Redskins hoped he would and provide Haynesworth and the defense with a bit of help to push their way to the playoffs.
With American Football you never know, because each season there are surprises – but the way the cards presently stack up, the Redskins look f-cked.