This is mostly an event list with some opinion sprinkled in. If you want to call me a moron, etc., please do not reply, I do not want to hear from you anyways. I will be on here sporadically throughout the weekend, but I may not comment until later.
Almost two years ago the Redskins decided to make Albert Haynesworth their newest trophy. A couple of days earlier, rumor hit the street about how much money Haynesworth was going to command. I believe it was a radio jockey in Texas that said he would be a Redskin for a cool $100 mil. A lot of people brushed it aside saying the jockey was in it for the ratings. In the end he was right.
There were three teams in the final bidding, the Giants, Bucs, and Redskins. According to the Giants they backed out near the end of negotiations because the contract was going to be too rich for them. I consider them the smart ones. The Bucs actually offered more than the Redskins, but Haynesworth chose the Skins because, according to him, they had a better team and a better future (not his exact words, but that was the just of it).
Some Skins fans were excited, others questioned whether or not this was the right choice. Haynesworth had a ton of baggage coming with him, plus he was going to eat up a massive part of the salary cap. The Redskins could have 3-4 quality free agents for what they paid Haynesworth and this upset a lot of fans, myself included. We had pined for defensive line help for years, but the team never obtained it. Well, except for Carter. He was a solid DE, but that was really all we had. Most Skins fans did not believe in him either, shame.
So, Haynesworth signs the 7 year $100 million dollar deal, with $41 million guaranteed. This is not a $100 million dollar deal because in his fifth year the Redskins would owe Haynesworth $29 million dollar base salary. That essentially made this a 4 year $48 million dollar deal. Now, anyone that is familiar with the Skins would assume that when year 5 comes around, and Albert is still there, they would just shuffle some money around and keep him. They have done it quite often over the past decade.
Now according to Haynesworth, the Skins told him that he would play similar to the way he played in Tennessee, 'free.’ As he states, “I am not a space eater.” This was the Skins second mistake, besides signing him, IMO. I do not think you promise a guy that he is going to have the freedom to play the way he likes. He must fit the system if you are going to sign him, a problem the Skins have had several times. Round peg, square hole.
However, it is just as much as Haynesworth’s fault that he signed here as it is the Skins. If Hayneworth would have done his homework, he would have seen that Blache does not allow his DT’s to freewheel. If Haynesworth was truly worried about how he would be used, he could have checked Blache’s resume. Blache has always been a very soft Coordinator dating back to his time with the Bears. This whole situation could have been avoided if Haynesworth and his agent did their homework instead of worrying about the big money. Also, if Haynesworth really was focused on winning and being aggressive, he should have listened to the Giants a little more intently.
So, anyways he signs, and he vows that you will not remember the guy that stomped on Andre Gurode’s head and created problems for the Titans. Also, let it be known that the Titans offered Haynesworth a contract that would have paid him $11 mil a year for four years (I could be wrong on this, but it is close). It would have made him the highest paid DT in the league.
Well let’s fast forward a bit to the 2009 season; the offseason went smoothly after all. Things start going a little bit south for the Haynesworth-Skins marriage. The are rumors coming out of Redskins Park that Haynesworth does not like the way he is being used in Blache’s system. As fans, we do not know if this is true, we have to give Haynesworth the benefit of the doubt, because we have not heard it directly from him. However, most Skins fans really do not like Blache’s system either. Although the yardage totals are low (4th ranked D), the PPG and turnovers are awful! Most people feel that Blache needs to create more pressure; some look at the ranking and think everything is o.k.!
I must have missed some things during the season that went on behind the scenes at Redskins Park because Albert shows up late one day to practice and gets sent home. Now, I do not think he would be sent home for just being late. There had to be other events that led up to this moment, if you know, please fill me in.
This sends Albert into a tizzy. He begins to cry about the scheme, coaches and organization. He claims that they are, “All out to get me or whatever.” He also says that he could not, “survive another year in this system if it stays the way it is.” Haynesworth and the Skins should have known what they were getting into.
Throughout the 2009 season a lot of Skins fans are crying that Haynesworth takes too many plays off. I agree he embellishes his injuries a bit, but he never took too many plays off. According to Pro Football Focus, Albert played 573 snaps in 2009. He played in 12 games missing four, he has never played a full 16 games, and that is something the Skins should have been more cognizant of. Anyways, these numbers are good enough to put him at an average of close to 48 snaps per game which would put him in the top ten DT’s for playing time.
O.K., so at this point everything is going south. It only gets worse when Shannahan arrives. In a recent interview, Shannahan said that he spoke with Albert when he first got there and that he did not like Blache’s system, no surprise there we already knew that. Now Shannahan decides that he is going to run a 3-4 instead. Rumor has it that Haynesworth is going to be the NT, which of course rumors claim that he does not want to play. At this point, one must ask themselves, what does he want to play? Albert’s way would be the answer.
Haslett is hired to run the 3-4 and in an interview on Redskins.com he claims that he has talked with Albert and he will be all over the line, NT and DE. He was going to create favorable matchups with him and take advantage of his athleticism. Well, rumors fly back and forth with no substantial evidence from Haynesworth that he does in fact hate the 3-4. He never comes out in public and says it.
When Bruce Allen was hired, one of the first things he says is that he does not like the way Albert’s contract is structured. Because of the uncertainty of future salary cap ramifications, the Skins move a large portion of Albert’s guaranteed money up. This was not a bargaining chip like some have suggested. This was to get the money cleared up for the future. They did the same thing with DeAngelo Hall’s contract. This $21 million dollar bonus was in fact Albert’s to have all along; it was a part of the $41 million. If they did not move this money to the present, Haynesworth would have just collected it in the future. However, if he had collected it in the future, a different team might have paid for it had he been traded or at least worked out a payment plan with the Redskins.
There was a stipulation with this money being moved to the forefront. If Albert cashed the check, he would agree to play in the 3-4 and anywhere on the field he was needed. I think that is fair enough. Shannahan also told him that if he did not want to play in the 3-4, then he should not cash the check and he would be released. Now, as far as him being flat out released, I do not know the salary ramifications. I could not imagine the Redskins releasing him and still paying him the $41 million, something would have to give.
Now another stipulation with this bonus is that at the end of the 2010 season, if he still wants out, he would have to pay back $16 million. Will he pay it back this offseason? I don’t think so. DeAngelo Hall has something similar.
The Redskins acquired McNabb in April. At this time it was rumored that Haynesworth was involved in the trade. His name had been part of the negotiations dating back to February, prior to him receiving the bonus. Neither team said that this was true, just a lot of rumors with reporters. Where there is smoke there is fire.
So, Haynesworth cashes the check, but refuses to come to off season activities. Now, you cannot force a player to go to off season practices, but it would behoove them and the team. It is especially beneficial when new systems are being put into place. Albert is the only guy to miss 100% of the off season. He forfeits workout bonuses and stays in Tennessee. This really irks Shannahan, but he could not do anything about it at the time. Albert promises to be there for the start of Training Camp.
When Training Camp comes around, Albert demands a trade. What??? Excuse me???? We just paid you your money, up front, unfortunately, and now you do not want to work for us??? Now imagine that you just paid someone $21 million dollars up front to perform a job that he agreed to. He did not like it, but, he knew what was coming. What would be your reaction? Me, I would go Tanya Harding on his knees. So, of course, they are not going to trade him unless he pays back the money or finds a team to pay for a large portion, if not all of the bonus. Not going to happen.
During this time many players come out and bash Haynesworth. Ray Lewis says,
"I mean, I don't have to create a response. The response is, whatever you want me to do coach, let's get it done. If you want to switch the defense because you think it'll work better in a 3-4 -- I played in a 4-3 my whole life, but we switched up to a 3-4.
"Ok, Ray, you're gonna have to take on more guards, you're gonna have to do this and that.
"Ok, coach, I'll adjust. Do I like it? Hmm, nah. But I'll adjust, so let's do it, you know what I'm saying? And through that process, I won the defensive player of the year in the 4-3 in 2000, and in 2003 I came back and won the defensive player of the year in the 3-4. So it don't matter. Bottom line. Bottom line. Football is football, man,...
"No matter what the scheme is, y'all work together as businessmen to get it done. Because that's ultimately what it is, it's a business, so let's come to work and let's work together to figure this out. Ok, what best fits you? Ok, well, let's go to this sometimes, and then sometimes you don't like it, then we'll switch back to a 4-3, so play with that. But all of this? No, too much. Too much."
How about former teammate and current NFLPA President, Kevin Mawae, "You talk about someone putting a mask on and going in backwards to get his paycheck," Mawae said. "I mean, if you don't want to be there, don't take the $21 million contract. How things turned out, it's no surprise to guys that have played with him in Tennessee. You know, what do you say?
"I mean, you're getting paid a ton of money to play less and you're complaining about it," he continued. "At the end of the day, it's one thing to be a football player and get paid lots of money, but there's a whole lot more to be said about being a man. You know, he's a [inaudible] player when he wants to be and he can be one of the best in the league and I've said that to him in his face before. But to this point he doesn't want to do it on a consistent basis."
"At some point in time in the game, you know, you got to do what's right for yourself and what's right for you and your family. I think $32 million guaranteed in one year pretty much takes care of those issues. I think the other issues go beyond the football field."
There were many other players, but no need to mention them all. However, I think this is pretty damning when it comes from the NFLPA President, a guy that is supposed to have your back in these situations.
Finally, Albert shows up lighter than expected. Rumor has it that he lost weight to force himself out of being the NT. Shannahan decides that Haynesworth needs to take the conditioning test. Haynesworth does and fails. Shannahan admits that Haynesworth is the only one that has to take it because he was the only one to miss the offseason. Shannahan takes a lot of heat for this, but I cannot get angry with him here. Many coaches come out and said that they do the same things with their players. Things get a little bit personal when expectations are not met. I would be angry if I was Shanny as well.
Players for the Redskins have failed the conditioning tests in the past and still have been allowed to play, see Fred Smoot. I was glad to see Shannahan sticking by his guns here. Also, at this time, Albert comes up with some strange disease. Many people speculated that it was either made up or alcohol related. It lasts for a minimal amount of time and everyone forgets about it.
More and more drama ensues. People complain that Albert should not be on the field during 3rd and 4th quarters of the preseason. My argument here is he needs to learn the position properly if he wants to play. He refused to come to offseason workouts and is behind on his preparation, he needs to play as much as possible. Finally we make it to the final preseason game. Albert has looked dominant at times and poor at other times. However, in the final game he looks like he just does not give a darn. This causes him to go back into the doghouse, not that he ever left really, but things were slowly looking up.
Let’s fast forward to the middle of the season. Everything is looking a little better. Albert says that he has agreed with the coaches about his playing time and the schemes he is involved in. Music to everyone’s ears! Everything is looking better, outside of his brother’s death of course. But then it appears as if he is getting lazy on the field. Check the Vick play, I thought he was hurt. I wished he was hurt, because I find the lack of effort pretty damning of his character. Not that his character was great to begin with.
I am not going to get too much into what has happened lately, it is fresh in everyone’s minds, plus I am tired of writing. What I will say is that I do not give much fault to Shannahan. I fault the prior administration more than Shannahan. I understand how and why the coach has taken this personal. He gave the player an out and the player lied, I think it is that simple. There have been a lot of rumors, he said, she said type stuff, but we as fans have no idea what is going on behind those doors. I will take Shannahan’s word over Albert’s any day based on their characters.
Keep in mind that if both player and coach were respectable, I would not choose sides. I believe Shannahan has reasons for the suspension, and he is not going to release all those reasons to the public. It would be bad business.
I think there is a bigger picture here that many are missing. For years the Redskins have been home to high priced, underachieving talent. I think Shannahan is changing that image. If you want to be paid, you must play and play hard, character counts. In recent memory, Coughlin, and Schottenheimer both started off on bad terms with their respective teams. Unfortunately, Marty ball did not get to stay in D.C., but his second half of the season was very respectable. Coughlin has gone on and done great things with the Giants. Hopefully, Shannahan will do the same for the Skins.
I imagine everyone in the organization would have hoped it worked out better. I don’t think Albert was an example just to be an example. I do implore the Redskins faithful to find a little patience. I know it is hard, we have tried for years, but I think we have two true leaders on this team in Allen and Shannahan. Let’s give them a chance for a couple of years until they prove us wrong. Easier said than done, I know, but that is what I am doing.
P.S. I don’t think the Skins should cut Haynesworth this off season. We have paid him too much money to let him walk. I would keep him on the team unless another team decides that they will work with a reasonable trade. If he does not want to play the 3-4, then he does not play. Of course, I am spiteful.
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