PFT: Haynesworth, Shanahan exchange words after failed conditioning test

[stevenaa]

Shanahan seems to have set the expectation that everyone on the team is starting from scratch. No exceptions. Everyone is treated equally, regardless of "star" status. Quite refreshing compared to years past. IMO, he has to stick to his guns and make Fat Al pass the test. As long as it is a reasonalbe fitness test for that position, I have no problem with this.

 

[fansince62]

I don't understand the point of view that Shanahan is acting petulant - this is football, the ultimate team sport, and Haynesworth was not part of the team until yesterday. Now he is being punished. WD is totally right - if we jerked around in practice, or slacked off, etc., our coach ran us into the ground. Punishing slackers or malcontents is nothing new in football, not sure why its a big deal now.

so Sean Taylor should have been punished by the Skins back in the day?

 

[fansince62]

Shanahan seems to have set the expectation that everyone on the team is starting from scratch. No exceptions. Everyone is treated equally, regardless of "star" status. Quite refreshing compared to years past. IMO, he has to stick to his guns and make Fat Al pass the test. As long as it is a reasonalbe fitness test for that position, I have no problem with this.

the problem is no one else is taking the test. free pass if you attended non-mandatory OTAs. that's BS IMO - having the hall monitor punch your ticket each day exempts you from the test. the right way to have done this was to put him on the field and make him go full throttle from day 1. if he fails due to conditioning...the point is made and then you yank him. this, on the other hand, is obviously contrived. It's horseXXXX IMO.

 

[Alaskan]

Second - I am in good shape, weigh less than half what Al does and have a history as both a sprinter and middle distance runner and I could not do 2, back to back, 300 yard shuttle runs, at least not under a specified time of like 20 minutes or so. Especially not in the August heat/humidity of Ashburn. Not trying to defend Al here, just saying...

You couldn't run 600 yards in under 20 minutes? What am I missing here?

 

[fansince62]

You couldn't run 600 yards in under 20 minutes? What am I missing here?

what Neo runs it under is irrelevant. what time was haynesworth asked to meet?...and quite frankly.....is the test even meaningful for a BIG truck kinda guy playing in the trenches? are there better ways of measuring sustained application of concentrated bursts of energy?

 

[Lanky Livingston]

so Sean Taylor should have been punished by the Skins back in the day?

Apples and oranges.

 

[CounterTrey]

what Neo runs it under is irrelevant. what time was haynesworth asked to meet?...and quite frankly.....is the test even meaningful for a BIG truck kinda guy playing in the trenches? are there better ways of measuring sustained application of concentrated bursts of energy?

According to reports he was able to meet the time the first two times, he just took too much time to recover in between. So it's not a matter of being too fast, it's a matter of his lousy cardio conditioning. Given 5 minutes in between is PLENTY if he was able to make the time and complete the first leg as reported. Neo's saying that it's reasonable to not be able to do 2 of em in under 20 minutes using his own experience and as a fellow middle distance runner and former sprinter myself who is basically average (I'm not going to be setting any records any time soon), I'm gonna have to say I disagree. So the point of reference is off for the attempted point IMO.

In short what he's being asked to do just isn't that tough for any sized person if they have decent cardio fitness - which would be in line with AH's claim that he was in "great shape".

 

[Neophyte]

You couldn't run 600 yards in under 20 minutes? What am I missing here?

I was probably exaggerating a bit and I picked a time out of the air with that in mind. To be honest, even in July/August head and humidity, this is something I could probably do right now in under 10 minutes, including a 5 minute break in between.

But I am not a 325lb lineman either. To put this in a different context, I doubt I could push the sled across the field once no matter how much time you gave me to do it. How long do you think it would take Al to do it the first time?

I am big on making the test fit the task at hand.

Apples and oranges.

How so?

 

[CounterTrey]

But I am not a 325lb lineman either. To put this in a different context, I doubt I could push the sled across the field once no matter how much time you gave me to do it. How long do you think it would take Al to do it the first time?

I am big on making the test fit the task at hand.

OK I'm with ya on that, I'm with Hog Fever though on the fact that this HAD to be done for multiple reasons. And Mike has to stick to his guns about making him pass it legitimately after he ran his mouth publicly about it or he loses a ton of credibility. I'm guessing the players who almost to a man were jawing off about AH this off season are all probably sympathetic but also OK with it.

 

[Alaskan]

I was probably exaggerating a bit and I picked a time out of the air with that in mind. To be honest, even in July/August head and humidity, this is something I could probably do right now in under 10 minutes, including a 5 minute break in between.

10 minutes - 5 minute break = 5 minutes of actual running.
600 yards / 1760 yards to a mile = .34 miles
5 minutes /.34 miles = 14.67 minutes per mile

That's a walking pace. I'm 57 years old, have more hardware in my ankle than a Home Depot and weigh 225 pounds. I could put a 100 lb pack on my back and do that even in the heat.

So either Fat Al is in some seriously bad shape or the time he had to do it in is a lot less.

But I don't think the test is irrelevant. When guys are on the field for a 2 minute drill, with very little time between plays, they need the cardio fitness to hang in there. If you have ever done a fast circuit training with weights you know much your level of cardio fitness as well as muscle strength plays into your ability to perform.

 

[Ax]

I'm 57 years old, have more hardware in my ankle than a Home Depot and weigh 225 pounds. I could put a 100 lb pack on my back and do that even in the heat.

So why are you being such a "Me First" selfish prick?

Get out to Ashburn and help us win, damnit!

 

[Neophyte]

Ok, so perhaps I should do some math in the future before shooting my mouth off.

Apparently he has to do the first run in 70 seconds and the second one in 73 seconds with a 5 minute break in the middle. This was reported to have come from Ray Wright, the strength and conditioning coach, this morning.

 

[Alaskan]

So why are you being such a "Me First" selfish prick?

Get out to Ashburn and help us win, damnit!

The trouble is that while I have running back size (6 feet 225 lbs) I have place kicker speed.

 

[Alaskan]

Ok, so perhaps I should do some math in the future before shooting my mouth off.

Apparently he has to do the first run in 70 seconds and the second one in 73 seconds with a 5 minute break in the middle. This was reported to have come from Ray Wright, the strength and conditioning coach, this morning.

That's a 6:50 mile pace and measures a degree of speed as well as cardio and probably isn't a real good test for a defense lineman.

I would think that a series of 20-25 yard runs with 10 seconds or so rest in between within a designated time period might more closely match severe game conditions.

 

[Jimbo]

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Mike pressing on Al's belly with his Iron Thumb. The ONLY thing I question is holding Fatso out until he passes the the test. I'm not sure a guy that big is capable of passing it. Then again, it's quite possible that Saturday or Sunday morning Mike could say "That's close enough, you passed. Now get your fat arse out there and sweat".

 

[fansince62]

at what point does this become cutting one's nose to spite one's face?

 

[The Burgundy Ghost]

so Sean Taylor should have been punished by the Skins back in the day?

If memory serves, he was (no, I don't have a link). I remember something Sean did that made him run laps everyday post practice for a week or so (not sure if it was the ATV issue or spitting at opposing players).

 

[fansince62]

If memory serves, he was (no, I don't have a link). I remember something Sean did that made him run laps everyday post practice for a week or so (not sure if it was the ATV issue or spitting at opposing players).

not with a timer and a "you can't practice dictum". in fact, Williams coddled the guy...brought him into his home. different strokes for different folks.

 

[Henry]

All I can think of after reading this thread is this:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weD1w165lP0[/media]

 

[fansince62]

According to reports he was able to meet the time the first two times, he just took too much time to recover in between. So it's not a matter of being too fast, it's a matter of his lousy cardio conditioning. Given 5 minutes in between is PLENTY if he was able to make the time and complete the first leg as reported. Neo's saying that it's reasonable to not be able to do 2 of em in under 20 minutes using his own experience and as a fellow middle distance runner and former sprinter myself who is basically average (I'm not going to be setting any records any time soon), I'm gonna have to say I disagree. So the point of reference is off for the attempted point IMO.

In short what he's being asked to do just isn't that tough for any sized person if they have decent cardio fitness - which would be in line with AH's claim that he was in "great shape".

again...and Neo's posts have been quality...what NEO runs is irrelevant.

I'm at the point where I don't care. Let's assume that Haynesworth isn't faking here...at what point does forcing a situation that injures a player strike you as...well.....stupid? at what point does this become a distraction? is there a better way of handling this? is the goal here to establish biggest **nis on the block or field the best d-line?

haynesworth is a knucklehead. but at what point does this become self-defeating?