 |
| Screw you guys... I'm goin' home... |
I have news for the Bay State newsprint literati... we fans are certainly disappointed at the outcome of the Albert Haynesworth experiment. But one thing we are NOT, is surprised. The only thing we have to say in reply to the finger-wagging. tsk-tsk-ing told-you-soing coming from the Boston sports media is a hearty "DUUUUHHHH". Thanks, gentlemen (So far Shalise Manza Young has refrained from the "told you so" chorus, so for now it's still "gentlemen"), but we were aware waaaaaay back when the Pats sent a 5th rounder to the Redskins that this all may go south at some point. We may be blind at times, but we're not altogether clueless.
Haynesworth has been a combination of trouble, talent, and occasional poor work ethic since we first really heard about him after using Andre Gurode's head like a wine glass at a Jewish wedding. Two pro-bowls and hundreds of thousands of pissed off Redskins fans later, he came to the Patriots with the hope of reviving both his career and his reputation. We knew the baggage when he came in. Look, we had heard the excuses for what went down in Washington... we knew that to some degree Mike Shannahan probably did mis-manage the situation, but we ALSO knew the crux of the problem was with Albert. We also had hoped that he realized it as well, and was willing to make a fresh start on a new team... a team with a top-flight organization and a reputation for rehabilitating troubled stars. But in truth, Albert brought more baggage then any superstar the Patriots had tried to take on before. Not Moss, not Dillon... no player brought more negative history to the table then Albert.
And that's why the outcome doesn't really surprise any of us. There was truly no better place for him to rebuild his image than in Foxborough, on a team with Superbowl aspirations, with a no-nonsense coach and an owner respected by both players and other owners alike, playing alongside a perennial all-pro in Wilfork. If Albert was going to be "pro-bowl" Albert again, he couldn't find a better situation than this one. And that's why it was so worth the risk, especially to we the fans. But even with all that in his favor, we also knew that for it to work out, it would require a change in Albert's mentality... a maturity that to this point was completely lacking. So we understood that it might just not be possible. But still, in general, we loved this move... for all the reasons I stipulated above. We heard all the warning cries and doom and gloom predictions. And it's not that we ignored them as much as we simply accepted them as part of the risk, given the possibility of the reward.
And so we tried to buy in on Albert. We tried to make allowances for, once again, missing large chunks of an already abbreviated training camp. We saw flashes of what might be in the first couple of games and so were willing to be patient when the injury issues began to creep up. And while we stood in support of the big man, not a one of us didn't at least have a certain understanding in the pits of our stomachs that some old issues were beginning to creep up. Some warning signs of elements of "bad Albert" that were beginning to surface. Nagging injuries keeping him off the practice field... showing up for a play here or there in games but disappearing altogether in others. We hoped it would improve but as the weeks went by... we knew. Of course, we knew. We would continue to defend the decision to make the gamble. It was a gamble well worth taking and had every reason to have worked beautifully, except for one thing: Albert just isn't that guy anymore. And at the end of the day, that's what's behind his release this week.
Oh, the pot-stirrers in the Boston media will tell you of "incidents" and "locker-room presence"... they'll point to the shouting match between Haynesworth and Pepper Johnson on the sideline during the Giants' game and say "that was the last straw"... but I think they are reaching for some dramatic element that lends more juice to the story. I personally think that Albert was probably done this week or the next regardless of that event. And I don't think it's simply because of his "work ethic", which is certainly questionable, or his attitude, or anything non-performance related like that. I think at the end of the day the reasoning for cutting Albert was simply he wasn't able to contribute enough to stay on the active roster. And as we have seen time and time again, Bill Belichick has no use for players that can't be available week in and week out. I think the decision to release Haynesworth was probably being contemplated weeks ago, but until Brace and Deaderick came off the PUP, and were ready to play, there wasn't quite enough depth to make the move, so Albert was given a chance to show he could be the player Belichick needed him to be on every play.
Already the Patriots were using Haynesworth pretty sparingly (only 133 out of 566 snaps did Albert line up), and it was becoming clear that he was simply not able to stay on the field for more than a couple of plays and give full effort. This was a combination of injury, age, and conditioning. Albert's been fighting nagging back and other injuries pretty much all season. It's kept him from practicing and working out as much as an NFL defensive lineman needs to in order to be able to contribute as an every down player. It's kept him out of playing shape and caused him to become tired and easily handled after one or two plays. This is what we saw in the Giants game. After making a decent play and drawing a holding penalty, he was gassed. But the situation dictated he needed to stay on the field. He basically took the next three plays off and looked totally overmatched. This simply can't happen in the NFL. And especially not to a guy who's supposed to have elite skill and talent. Yes, this caused Pepper Johnson to read him the riot act (rightfully), and yes, it caused a heated exchange on the sidelines... but the tete-a-tete with Johnson was merely a sideshow to the problem Belichick and the rest of the coaching staff already realized: Haynesworth simply could not contribute to this team on a regular enough basis to make keeping him around worthwhile, especially with the two DLs coming off the PUP. His release was sealed long before the sideline incident with Pepper.
And we, the fans, while disappointed, are not really at all surprised. We knew the potential, and the risks. It was a chance worth taking. So please, please Boston sportswriters, stop telling us all how prescient you all are, and how this was so inevitable and we should have known better. We did. We knew this was one of the likely outcomes, just as it was with Dillon and Moss. And given the same opportunity, we'd do it again. In a heartbeat.
No comments:
Post a Comment