Redskins need their top-paid player on board for a seamless transition. Brad Biggs
One of Albert Haynesworth's problems, perceived or real, went away on Wednesday when Greg Blache told the National Football Post he’s retiring after 22 season in the NFL.
Haynesworth made it clear near the end of a season gone wrong for the Washington Redskins that he was unhappy in the system being run by the defensive coordinator -- and went as far as to say he couldn’t play under the same conditions in 2010. Haynesworth blasted Blache in comments to the Washington Post after he was sent home from practice on Christmas Day.
He doesn't have to be concerned about the same scheme now, but you have to wonder if someone told Haynesworth to be careful what he wished for in this instance. The Redskins hired longtime Pittsburgh Steelers defensive assistant Lou Spanos to be their linebackers coach on a busy Wednesday. It's a step in what is expected to be a conversion to a 3-4 defense under new coach Mike Shanahan and defensive coordinator Jim Haslett.
That means the Redskins will likely be counting on their $100-million man to convert to nose tackle, a crucial yet unglamorous role in the scheme. Haynesworth wanted more freedom in what he was being asked to do under Blache, and the nose tackle role will be even more restrictive. It's a totally different extreme from what he was doing, and even playing end in a 3-4 scheme would be a far cry from what he was looking to do or allowed to do in the previous 4-3 defense.
The Redskins have some terrific building blocks for a 3-4 defense, starting with Haynesworth. Athletically, he can fill any role on the line in any scheme. Quite simply, the 3-4 doesn't work without a cog in the middle at the nose, and he's got the size and strength to be that man. That's why the first order of business for the new coaching staff is going to be getting Haynesworth to buy in. Completely. The club paid a fortune to land him as the prize of free agency, and when he's playing up to his capability, he's dominant. Haslett is considered a demanding coordinator, so this is going to be an interesting pairing to watch from the start.
If the Redskins can get Haynesworth on board, they could make the kind of seamless transition the Green Bay Packers did to the 3-4 under Dom Capers this season -- you know, until they stopped playing defense in the wild-card playoff round loss at Arizona. Rookie outside linebacker Brian Orakpo is going to be a terrific player to mold in the scheme, and veteran Andre Carter can probably make the transition. The Redskins are more equipped from a personnel standpoint to become a 3-4 team than the Packers were.
But if Haynesworth doesn't embrace the change, the Redskins are going to pick up where they left off, with their top-paid player brooding about his role. And then the new coaching staff is going to struggle to make it happen. Players win games, not schemes, but the Redskins need this player to be invested in the defensive plan as much as they are in him.
Follow me on Twitter: BradBiggs
No. He is fat and lazy. He is only good for clogging up the middle, and that only works when he has a sidekick in the middle pushing with him. He's no Kyle Vanden Bosch or Jared Allen when it comes to tenacity.
Haynesworth should be the DE in a 3-4 scheme. When teams switch from 4-3 to 3-4, there's usually a defensive tackle who gets moved to defensive end.
Lots of talk on the Redskins' boards about this. The new brains clearly seem intent on going to a 3-4 as the base alignment. Other than Orakpo however, they don't have the personnel to do it. Haynesworth could play DE in a 3-4 and would probably be a dominant force, although he is clearly the prototype 4-3 DT. I can't see him at NT. As the post notes, that would be far more limiting than the role he found unsatisfactory this year.
The rest of the defense is a poor fit for the 3-4. Carter tried and failed to play OLB at SF when he was younger and presumably more mobile. Chris Lewis could play OLB, but the inside backers, London Fletcher, H. B. Blades and presumably Rocky MacIntosh ( Weakside backer now), are smallish and not suited for taking on offensive linemen. There is no one on the roster who could fill the crucial NT position, and guys who can are prized commodities now that so many teams are going to the 3-4.
Call this a work in progress and hope they implement it slowly, over a couple of seasons. For now, Skins fans will be satisfied with a defense that can get off the field, get some turnovers, tackle people inbounds and not collapse in the fourth quarter. Oh yeah, and not play the Dbacks 10 yards oiff the line on third and five.
I agree, Haynesworth should play DE in the 3-4.
A player I would like to see the Redskins pursue is Vikings backup DE Brian Robison. He is a 3rd year player out of Texas who plays with a lot of passion and has the athleticism to play multiple positions in the 3-4 scheme.
I think the Redskins drafting at #4 will be the most interesting selection on draft day. I really hope its not a QB.
Haynesworth makes sense as a 3-4 DE. Anthony Montgomery can play the nose. An All-Pro? Probably not, but he can do the job. Orakpo and Chris Wilson benefit immediately, as hybrid DE/OLBs they're perfect for the system. Maybe Carter, too. Play Rocky McIntosh and Fletcher as your ILBs and they could be very strong in a 3-4.
This can all be fixed if the Skins draft Terrence Cody in Round 2 or 3. He is an absolute monster of a NT, much like Ted Washington and Keith Traylor were in their later years (as far as size goes). He is supposedly more athletic than one would expect, which could make him a good fit there. Haynesworth would have to play 5 technique, as he is not the type of player who can command double teams if his role is not to penetrate and disrupt. I think you put him on the strong side and let him abuse the TE and OT, leaving Orakpo free to rush with only a RB to stop him. If you slant him inside, Orakpo still has a favorable matchup with the TE.
@John Park Williams,
You are so right. Please don't draft a QB with the fourth pick. Mr. Suh would be a monster at 3-4 DE, and of course, Okung would be the obvious choice if he's still there. If both are gone, who knows what happens? At least we can be pretty sure that Mike Shanahan is not going to waste a first round pick on a RB.
Probably should have kept Antonio Dixon eh Dan....
Is it just me or are you missing something? LaRon Landry absolutely blows as a defensive back and merely wants to run really fast and attempt to hit people really hard - sounds a lot like a OLB in a 3-4 scheme to me...doesn't it?
I'm not saying I want to lose him, but give the man credit. One Mike Ditka came to the Bears after being special teams coach in Dallas, so there is precedent. When the time comes to dump Lovie, I hope the team considers the diamond it already has on board.
Blue Devils coach Cutcliffe coached...
Bears add Tim Holt as O-line coach
Replaces the promoted Tom Clements
Ex-Patriots safety takes issue...
Veteran coach was team's offensive...
Jan 14, 2010
01:43 PM
As a Redskins fan I say, "aaaaaaaargh!"
Wild guess - Haynesworth won't be too happy with this. "Al, I know we paid you a bajillion dollars because we wanted you to be disruptive and get in the backfield. New plan: we just want you to sit there and get run into a lot. Cheers!"
Why must my team ALWAYS do this? Why do they keep overspending for guys and then not use them for the thing that got them overpaid in the first place?
*sigh*
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.