I would actually expect a better effort out of the team now that Haynesworth is gone.
Why? It's not that Haynesworth's status SHOULD have affected the other players' performances but the reality is that often unresolved conflict in the locker room DOES translate to a lack of focus and confidence on the field.
We have seen it time and again in the NFL. Just look at New England this season.
A lot of people expected the Patriots offense to suffer after Randy Moss was dealt away, but in fact the opposite has happened. Guys loosened up and just played ball and the distraction of a guy looking for a new contract and short-arming balls during games was gone.
Remember the Giants in 2006? Dissension due in large part to conflict between Coughlin and Tiki Barber. Barber was gone in 2007 and the Giants didn't miss a beat in making the playoffs and beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
The NFL is a team game. You find that out more and more the older you get and the more you see.
Yes, there are players like Brady and Manning in a generation that can be indispensible to a certain team's winning or not.
But where there is conflict between a player and coach or the organization the team is usually better off once that player is gone.
And in guys like Randy Moss, Tiki Barber, Keyshawn Johnson, etc. these were pretty talented football players, like Haynesworth. These were not bums.
But they were not 'winners' in terms of team first and win first
 }})
