Haynesworth Inactive on Season Opener? (No Confirmation)

[Neophyte]

It is funny about the Texans, they run a 3-4. Rumor has it that Al doesn't like that scheme. They could use a big NT. Okoye does not seem to be cutting it so far for them, however, he is young I think he is only 20 or 21.

According to their depth chart they run a 4-3 in Houston.

 

[Jugband McGillicuddy]

Pls folks.....AH's mindset is very understandable: a final, meaningless pre-season game. Playing a 9 yr pro, two time pro-bowler almost the entire game? that's total horse**** and everyone knows it. that game is for about-to-be-cut cannon fodder and practice squad wanna bes.

Such are the consequences of getting a $21 million bonus and then being "too good" to attend mandatory workouts with your teammates. You're going to have a really difficult time getting any sympathy for him out of me.

Maybe if he had come in here in shape, Shanahan wouldn't have felt the need to try to play him into shape now.

And ain't it great that he's planning on doing precisely the same thing next year? It's worked so well this.

 

[TomE]

According to Reid at WaPo

Source: Albert Haynesworth will play vs. Dallas
We're getting ready to head to practice, but we want to pass along a little tidbit we received from a source Monday afternoon.

Despite the Redskins' disappointment with Albert Haynesworth's play in the preseason finale, the team does plan to have the two-time all-pro defensive lineman active against the Dallas Cowboys in the Sunday-night season opener, according to someone familiar with the situation.

And there's more. The Redskins also plan for Haynesworth to play a role against Dallas, the source added. The source made it clear he did not know whether Haynesworth would start, but he definitely anticipates Haynesworth playing.

During practice Saturday, which was closed to the media, Haynesworth participated in very few plays, according to another source. After primarily lining up at right end recently, Haynesworth was moved back to nose tackle and taken off the nickel package.

click the link to finish up the story

 

[Elephant]

This whole situation is about expectations. He was paid to be one of the best interior defensive linemen in the league. He has not even come close to that after receiving an enormous paycheck. He is not living up to expectations.

I was given a substantial raise at work and in return I am expected to perform certain duties. If I don't, I will likely get the boot. Same should be expected of Albert. He is paid to perform at a certain level, he hasn't!

The season opener should be the deciding factor for his future here. He is smart enough to know the importance of this game. If he does not go out and have a dominant performance against the Cowgirls' suspect offensive line, they should strongly consider benching him for the rest of the season and cutting their losses after the season is over if a trade can't be worked out before the deadline.

 

[The Burgundy Ghost]

So it looks like they will limit Haynesworth to 2nd team snaps. I'd bet he'll be out there on passing downs and they'll limit him in the run.

 

[fansince62]

Such are the consequences of getting a $21 million bonus and then being "too good" to attend mandatory workouts with your teammates. You're going to have a really difficult time getting any sympathy for him out of me.

Maybe if he had come in here in shape, Shanahan wouldn't have felt the need to try to play him into shape now.

And ain't it great that he's planning on doing precisely the same thing next year? It's worked so well this.

AH shoulders a lot of the blame...no doubt about it. On the other hand, we have a megalomaniac for a head coach and a GM who believes following the strategy of previous regimes only at lower cost is the path to success. True leaders find a way to make things work - Shanahan is a laughable punk. He wants to gain control of the locker room by demonstrating his absolute authority...rather than finding the path with each individual that turns them into true team positives. While this may have started with an idiot contract signed by Snyder/Cerratto, and festered with a manchild incapable of functioning as an adult.....it has magnified under a coach who can't solve the tough problems. Everyone seems to forget...Shanahan is getting paid a pretty penny as well. What the F has he done to manage this situation like an adult? Not much.

 

[hail2skins]

I posted elsewhere this theme and will return to it in the years to come: Shanahan will never, ever, never, ever go down as a great Redskin coach. He doesn't give a friggin hoot about the Redskins. What he cares about is his legacy, his sense of authority,his ego. It's almost palpable at press conferences: this man has a towering ego. He may reintroduce winning football and a controlled locker room...he may even win a SB (though not with this band aided roster)......but he'll never go down in Redskin history on an elevated plane like Coach Gibbs. In more colloquial terms - as a person Mike Shanahan is beginning to evince the characteristics of a first rate rectal orifice. we shall see.

You'll probably have that feeling as long as Snyder hires people who have had HC gigs in other stops before......as he hinted this offseason that he will do from now on because he felt so "burned" by the Zorn experiment.

I can care less, though.......if Shanahan can reintroduce winning foot ball to DC, that's all I care about, and not some great comparison to Skins coaches of the past, as we're all too guilty of doing.

I also feel the same way about this "smokescreen" crap. The league knows Shanahan enough that he's not going to take anyone by surprise. Either he's done a good job coaching these guys up or he hasn't. What I saw from the offense in the preseason gives me some cause for optimism.

 

[fansince62]

So it looks like they will limit Haynesworth to 2nd team snaps. I'd bet he'll be out there on passing downs and they'll limit him in the run.

were I Dallas...aside from booming against our porous run defense...I'd be passing to the backs and TEs all night. Our LBs are poor in space and the front 3 can't generate much, if any, passrush. Haslett is gonna be forced to up the ante with heavy blitzing. I wouldn't mind the direction we are headed in defensively if the run defense were better...but judging on what I saw preseason....it aint.

 

[fansince62]

I was given a substantial raise at work and in return I am expected to perform certain duties.

not if you work for the Government or SEIU!!!!!

 

[servumtuum]

...rather than finding the path with each individual that turns them into true team positives. While this may have started with an idiot contract signed by Snyder/Cerratto, and festered with a manchild incapable of functioning as an adult.....

This is the heart of the problem I have. I myself criticized Shanahan for what I thought were mistakes in his handling of the Haynesworth situation, the extra punitive 300 yard test,, among others. He has made mistakes in this in my view and I am not ignoring them at all. The "path" that will turn Haynesworth into a true positive is my question-does such a "path" exist in his case? Zorn tried a hands-off, let him do pretty much what he wanted approach and we got about 60% effort. His history with Titans indicates this tendency to go his own way did not begin as the result of anything that the Redskins have done but predates his involvement with the Redskins organization. Did Zorn take a bad approach? Possibly. Did Shanahan take a bad approach? Possibly. Did the Titans coaching staff take bad approaches that caused him to devisew his own personal training system and an inconsistency of play that had the Titans fans complaining while he was there? Maybe? Possibly? Who knows for sure. What that lends me to believe, however, is that "who the HC is" is not the variable that controls the outcome here.

The operative problem is what grates at me. We need him on defense. Even at 60%, he makes a noticeable difference-offensive coordinators have to make changes whenever he's in the game-and operating as a disruptive force-he alters the game in our favor. This is one reason why I was opposed to the idea of dumping him when all this mess started earlier this year. I'm trying to, in my own mind, conjure a optimal solution that might wind up with him being the disruptive force we need on defense but I'm becoming worried that there might not exist anyone in the NFL coaching ranks has that capability and that then puts the onus on Haynesworth as being unjustifiably uncooperative.

BTW, I find your apparent distate for Shanny rather interesting. Everybody's got an opinion and I'm not going to try to convince you to change yours. I just thought you might find it interesting that Shanahan is the kind of coach I like. Arrogant? Yup. Egotistical? Definitely. But, and this is what erases personality deficits for me, a brilliant tactical football mind. Above everything else I want an intelligent and inventive HC and coaching staff.

 

[Cycleans]

I'm uncertain about alot of things coming into this season. The 3-4 switch is the most puzzling. The defense was pretty solid last season albeit the lack of turnovers. The Ah situation has compounded matters significantly. My guess is Ah isn't being punished,
so much as concern for his lack of effort ecspecially against the scrubs. We don't know what conversations that may or may not have been made between Shanny and Ah... so perhaps this is a battle of wills.
That being said I'm guessing this 3-4 switch will take most likely 6-8 games before it gels. We might be catching Dallas at the right time because they've done a bit of shuffling themselves... but on the Oline.
I'm hopeful that although the Skins might struggle a bit against the run, they will offset that with more turnovers and sacks. Hopefully they can keep the scoring allowed to something manageable.
On offense? I'm fairly excited...not because they will all of a sudden become a scoring juggernaut. More or less because they picked up the best available Qb on the market and he knows our division well. The Oline has been overhauled...perhaps not a dominant line like we would like but a significant step up from last season.
Depth is always a concern but thats the case with most teams. Gano is an upgrade over Suisham. Shanny (father and son) are a huge upgrade over the last couple of seasons. A new GM as well. As a Skins fan we are prone to expect the wheels to come off early and see our hopes flushed. Maybe just maybe Mcnabb will have the good fortune of staying healthy this season and we can at least be in the playoff conversation after Thanksgiving. HTTR

 

[Elephant]

not if you work for the Government or SEIU!!!!!

Whoever who said a little comic relief in the heat of discussion is not a good thing?

 

[Miles Monroe]

It's amazing how things get blown out of proportion in the press. Actually, I shouldn't be amazed, as it's been this way for years.

The latest has Albert playing Sunday in some capacity.....

Shanahan, meanwhile, has declined to discuss plans of who will play, who will start and who comes off the bench when asked about any player, however. Clinton Portis has been the declared starting running back since the conclusion of the offseason program in June, but today Shanahan refused even to confirm that the situation remains the same, or discuss how he would use the back. So naturally, he wouldn't rule Haynesworth in or out.

He strongly implied, however, that the plan is for the lineman to play in some capacity.

"We’re going to play the best players that are available to play, and Albert is one that keeps getting better at different positions," Shanahan said.

Full story

Jason Reid is reporting the same.....

 

[fansince62]

Whoever who said a little comic relief in the heat of discussion is not a good thing?

not heated among us! I'm just a tad angry that this distraction has lingered for so long: angry with AH; angry w/Shanahan.

You know...it would be nice for the Skins to be a source of pride and joy for the community...and not the marketing BS we have been witness to for so long.

 

[fansince62]

BTW, I find your apparent distate for Shanny rather interesting. Everybody's got an opinion and I'm not going to try to convince you to change yours. I just thought you might find it interesting that Shanahan is the kind of coach I like. Arrogant? Yup. Egotistical? Definitely. But, and this is what erases personality deficits for me, a brilliant tactical football mind. Above everything else I want an intelligent and inventive HC and coaching staff.

hey serv! I'm not so opposed to a head coach wearing those hats.....but I'd prefer a truly great man. someone to admire. Mike Shanahan is not a person to admire. Joe Gibbs is.

so...if winning is the marker, then what has he done since 1998? more than any Skins coach...sure enough. but not much more if the only thing that matters is SBs.

He has accomplished some positives since arriving:

- the culture has changed

- team discipline seems to have improved

- the highway to the front office seems to now have a huge jersey barrier

- the o-line is being rebuilt

- the play calling is smarter, more strategic

- the QB play is more disciplined

- good play against the run and pass by the CBs

- somewhat better tackling than previous years

- more turnovers

- not much scoring by the first team O; yes only preseason; but the O never looked like a smoothly functioning machine

- weak receiving corps

In fact...most of the positives have been on offense...our achilles heel the past several years. Defense is a big question mark:

- not impressed by the down linemen.....at all. old or recovering from serious injuries. over-the-hill. no real difference makers week to week.

- poor run defense so far. The Jets ran all over the defense and so did the Ravens.

- OLBs are not there in pass coverage...a long-time problem for the Skins

- free safeties haven't really been a factor...where are they?

Special teams?

- kick/punt coverage has been good

- punt return for a TD is encouraging

- placekicker has put the ball in the endzone several times

- field goal kicker looks reliable 45-50

there's more to reflect on...this is just a quick off the top of my head list.

 

[The Burgundy Ghost]

were I Dallas...aside from booming against our porous run defense...I'd be passing to the backs and TEs all night. Our LBs are poor in space and the front 3 can't generate much, if any, passrush. Haslett is gonna be forced to up the ante with heavy blitzing. I wouldn't mind the direction we are headed in defensively if the run defense were better...but judging on what I saw preseason....it aint.

You're dead on. I'd run the ball and try to hit Jones in the flat and Witten underneath/seam.

 

[servumtuum]

fansince, I agree with everything you pointed out as pluses and minuses on offense and defense-which is why I said we need AH on defense.

And that's why I get frustrated sometimes-our offense is going to be better than it's been in a while-and the defense, the heavy blitzing, turnover-producing, aggressive, in-your-face defense, could work with a dominant NT/DE busting offensive linemen all over the place.

I really can only wait, watch the first two or three games, and then see what happens-and hope for the best. I could be wrong on several things-on some I hope I am, on others I hope I'm not.

 

[fansince62]

fansince, I agree with everything you pointed out as pluses and minuses on offense and defense-which is why I said we need AH on defense.

And that's why I get frustrated sometimes-our offense is going to be better than it's been in a while-and the defense, the heavy blitzing, turnover-producing, aggressive, in-your-face defense, could work with a dominant NT/DE busting offensive linemen all over the place.

I really can only wait, watch the first two or three games, and then see what happens-and hope for the best. I could be wrong on several things-on some I hope I am, on others I hope I'm not.

bingo! I understand that were there any marginally fair/attractive options AH would be history....and I'd be all for that. But there aren't and the other d-linemen just aren't all that inspiring. so the coaches/FO need to fish or cut bait. either you come to terms with the guy on some level and get him to play motivated football or get rid of him.

 

[the Omniscient]

According to their depth chart they run a 4-3 in Houston.

I guess they changed that in 2009? Where the heck was I?

 

[The Burgundy Ghost]

bingo! I understand that were there any marginally fair/attractive options AH would be history....and I'd be all for that. But there aren't and the other d-linemen just aren't all that inspiring. so the coaches/FO need to fish or cut bait. either you come to terms with the guy on some level and get him to play motivated football or get rid of him.

As a fan/follower of this situation, it's hard to tell what's going on. One minute, Shanahan is pissed and won't start Haynesworth (may even make him inactive). The next day, Shanahan is saying he's working hard and that the Skins will work him into the rotation with hints that if he doesn't start he'll have a significant role in the gameplan.

So why I agree with you fan, the problem is we don't know if they're happy with Haynesworth or not. At this point, I'm not sure they do.......
unless this is a real work of genius by Shanahan and is making everybody confused with his gamesmanship (maybe this his goal with Dallas).