dahurt002 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Every Play Counts: LaVar Arrington Story Tools: Print Email Blog This Michael David Smith / FootballOutsiders.com Posted: 11 hours ago Early in the 2005 season the Washington Redskins did something that just a year earlier would have seemed unthinkable: They put three-time Pro Bowl linebacker LaVar Arrington on their inactive list. Arrington was healthy and ready to play, but the Redskins' coaching staff explained that whenever they put him on the field, he did his own thing rather than play within the defensive system, and his refusal to follow the game plan hurt the team. Arrington made it back into the starting lineup later in the year, but he wasn't happy in Washington, and his coaches weren't happy with him. During the off-season both parties agreed to go their separate ways, and Arrington signed a contract with the division rival New York Giants. So now that Arrington is in a new environment, is he able to play within the confines of the defense? Watching Arrington on every play of the Giants' victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday showed that he doesn't seem to know what he's doing in pass coverage, has lost the blend of speed and power that once made him a terror as a pass rusher, and generally looks washed up at the age of 28. In the scheme run by Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis, linebackers have to read the offense and react, rather than simply attack as soon as the ball is snapped. Although a read-and-react defense by definition forces linebackers to see what the offense is doing before they can pursue the play, it's surprising how passive Arrington looked against Philadelphia. On one first-and-10 swing pass to running back Brian Westbrook along the left sideline, Arrington was closing in and could have taken a shot at Westbrook, but when he saw that his teammate, cornerback Sam Madison, was about to make the tackle, he slowed down and watched. Sure, Madison tackled Westbrook and it didn't hurt the Giants that Arrington didn't get there to help out, but what if Madison had missed? Arrington should have followed up the play in case Westbrook had broken Madison's tackle, but he seemed content to leave the work to someone else. Early in his career, Arrington was at his best when he lined up on the line of scrimmage and blitzed. That's what he did in 2002, when Marvin Lewis was his coordinator and he led all NFL linebackers with 11 sacks. But in the Giants' defense he just as often lines up four yards off the line of scrimmage and has coverage responsibilities on short passes in the flat. He struggles with that job. LaVar Arrington appears to be a shadow of his former self. On a first-and-10 late in the first half Sunday, Arrington got completely turned around in coverage, following tight end L.J. Smith deeper than he needed to (he had a defensive back behind him), opening up a huge area of real estate that Westbrook entered to catch a seven-yard pass. Arrington did make the tackle on that play, but if he had been in the correct position he would have stopped the pass from being completed in the first place. That was far from the only time Arrington gave too much of a cushion to a Philadelphia running back. On a third-and-3, Donovan McNabb passed to running back Thomas Tapeh, with Arrington in coverage. Arrington backed up far enough that he allowed Tapeh to run past the first-down marker and turn around with plenty of space. Tapeh dropped McNabb's pass, but if he hadn't it would have been a first down. Arrington also had trouble tackling. On a nine-yard completion to Correll Buckhalter late in the first half, Arrington was in coverage and should have tackled Buckhalter for a short gain, but Buckhalter ran through Arrington's arms and picked up five extra yards before Carlos Emmons tackled him. The Eagles obviously noticed Arrington struggling. After that missed tackle they threw three consecutive passes into the left flat, exactly where Arrington was in coverage. Those coverage problems are why Arrington comes out in the nickel package. If he looked incompetent against the pass, Arrington looked uninterested against the run. On a third-and-2 run by Correll Buckhalter, Arrington lined up on the line of scrimmage outside the left tackle, but when Buckhalter went up the middle, Arrington just stood there and watched. Two plays later he did it again: If you see a replay of Brian Westbrook's 12-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, keep an eye on Arrington. He lined up outside Philadelphia's left tackle and Westbrook ran outside the right tackle, so no one would expect Arrington to make the play. But everyone would expect Arrington to try to get into the vicinity in case Westbrook cut back in the other direction, and he didn't. As soon as he saw Westbrook turn the corner, he slowed his pursuit to a jog. There's just no excuse for loafing the way Arrington did on that play. Even when Arrington was in position to make tackles, he didn't fight off the Eagles' blocks. On the first play of the second half, when Westbrook ran in Arrington's direction and gained 13 yards, Arrington got abused by Eagles tight end L.J. Smith. Arrington tried to get into the backfield around Smith's outside shoulder, but Smith drove him about 10 yards back. Perhaps most troubling was Arrington's performance on Westbrook's crucial fourth-quarter fumble. When the ball came loose, Arrington just stood there and watched as his teammates and the Eagles scrambled for it. Four minutes remained in the game and the Giants trailed by 10. That turnover fueled their dramatic comeback victory. You'd think Arrington would be doing everything he could to get to the ball, but he just didn't look too interested. Is Arrington lazy? That would certainly be a reasonable conclusion, although it's also possible that his knee is hurting him so much that he doesn't want to go full speed unless it's absolutely necessary. Since undergoing multiple surgeries for a 2004 knee injury, Arrington has often talked of the pain he feels. Whatever the reason for Arrington's going in slow motion on so many plays, it's going to hurt the Giants' defense. Saying he has slowed down because of his knee isn't a question of Arrington's toughness, though. On the first play of the second quarter, Arrington ran head-first into Westbrook and went down with a pinched nerve in his neck, appearing to be in a lot of pain. He sat out only two plays before returning to the game. But that knee is most likely why blitzing, which was once Arrington's forte, is now an exercise in futility. Arrington did blitz a few times, but he was never successful. Both of the Eagles' tackles were able to keep him in check, and even Westbrook, a running back who weighs 203 pounds to Arrington's 257, had no trouble blocking Arrington, stopping him on multiple plays before he even got close to McNabb. On one third-and-2 early in the third quarter, Arrington blitzed and Westbrook took him out low. The old Arrington would have jumped over a running back who dove at his legs, but this version of Arrington went straight down to the ground as McNabb completed a pass for a first down. Arrington looks nothing like the Penn State player who famously leaped over the offensive line to drill a fullback the instant he received a handoff. He has now played in 18 games since he last had a sack. Arrington was benched in Washington because he couldn't play within the schemes of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Now he seems unable or unwilling to play within Giants coordinator Tim Lewis's schemes. But what's fascinating is that Lewis and Williams run very different defenses. Williams, a Buddy Ryan protégé, likes his linebackers to attack and run as fast as they can to the ball on every play. Lewis likes his linebackers to read the offense, stay in coverage, and make sure they're always in the proper position. It makes sense that a linebacker would have trouble moving from one of those systems to the other, but a linebacker who can't fit into either has a problem. Arrington says he just wants to line up and drill someone, which would seem to make him a perfect fit as a special teams gunner. But the best special teams players are the ones who never stop hustling, and Arrington doesn't fit in that mold. There just isn't a place on a football team for a player who played the way Arrington did on Sunday. On the FOX broadcast of the game, commentator Troy Aikman said, "LaVar has not shown the same intensity that I was used to seeing of him when he first came into the league." Aikman would know. It was a tough hit by Arrington that gave Aikman the concussion that ended his career. But Arrington didn't deliver any tough hits on Sunday. Arrington's contract was described in the media as a seven-year, $49 million deal, but the contract was so back-loaded that the Giants can get out of it whenever they want without too big a hit on their cap. Unless he improves dramatically as this season wears on, he shouldn't be back with the Giants next year. I guess our coaching staff knows a little about football huh, " I EVEN HAD TO COVER FOR COACH GIBBS" -LAVAR, Total B.S. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stwasm Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Boy, did we ever make a mistake not keeping LaVar! Dallas could have rolled up 21 more points with him in our defense! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#1njskinsfan Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 boy that sounds like i heard it before some where Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eparadox Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 It's sad...the only thing that made Arrington a force was his superhuman physical prowess (Lord knows it wasn't his football IQ)...and now that that's gone, he basically washed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsciambi Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Yeah, Arrington is one heck of an athlete, but there's something not quite there when it comes to playing his part on a team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xameil Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 It has become a common scene on TV either him missing a tackle, or just standing there with his hands on his hips near the tackle. Not exactly the Lavar we all remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
browncl Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Interesting. Thanks for sharing this. I think it may be early to come to some of those conclusions, but if his play continues like that, he probably should get cut. Hearing that he wasn't pursing the ball every moment it was in play was suprising to me as I have so many memories of him doing just that as a skin. He would come from the opposite side of the field and make the play, it was great. The author here seems to answer his own question though. He was saying that Tim Lewis' scheme is very different than Williams' where the linebackers are always attacking and swarming the ball. If Lewis doesn't want that, then maybe he is "loafing" so he doesn't get too out of position (and is in fact trying to play within the scheme). Don't get me wrong. I liked Lavar early (who didn't), but I was in favor of benching him and letting him go. I'm not trying to stick up for him, but if he gets another game or two of loafing in, I expect the national media will start teeing off on him like this guy did... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbuzz1962 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 I told everyone he would not last more than one season in NY. He is washed up, constantly injured, and out of position. Had he learned Williams defense, and played his position, he may still be a Redskin. It's a shame to see such a good player lose his confidence and look so average. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlinginSammy HOF '63 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 ...and I got his authentic jersey. My first authentic. That's OK. I have a seamstress that's going to reverse the numbers to "65" and add a new name on the back. When finished the jersey will be forever legit because it will become a Dave Butz jersey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PleaseGoForTheWin Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Look, I'm glad LaVar is gone and I do believe that he's lost a step, but that "article" is a sham. You could write an article like that about most players after any given game. All the writer does is nit-pick, as if everything and anything LaVar did is wrong. Seems to me that the writer went into this looking for things to criticize rather than to make observations about LaVar's play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tr1 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Look, I'm glad LaVar is gone and I do believe that he's lost a step, but that "article" is a sham. You could write an article like that about most players after any given game. All the writer does is nit-pick, as if everything and anything LaVar did is wrong. Seems to me that the writer went into this looking for things to criticize rather than to make observations about LaVar's play. Please try to be objective....LaVar stunk. I'm willing to give him the excuse that his knee is making him timid, but that knee has taken forever to heal...and I doubt it ever will. Edit: I might add that LaVar may not know the system, as well. I think he has a learning disorder...or what appears to be one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newtomd Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Look, I'm glad LaVar is gone and I do believe that he's lost a step, but that "article" is a sham. You could write an article like that about most players after any given game. All the writer does is nit-pick, as if everything and anything LaVar did is wrong. Seems to me that the writer went into this looking for things to criticize rather than to make observations about LaVar's play. I agree that the article was overly critical, but Lavar did look really bad in the Eagles game. It is a shame to see Lavar fall so far so fast. Despite his disputes with the Skins front office, I always thought he was a decent person (community involvement, fan friend, etc.). I may be one of the few on this board who does, but I hope he can turn his career back around (ideally not with the Giants). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaSkinzBaby Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 It is a shame that people can want to give BOO-NELL a chance and then continue to down LaVar like this. His knee is not all the way healed and at this point, maybe it won't be. However LaVar was a MAJOR reason why people came to see the skins at FEDEX and no matter what you all say HE WAS A GREAT LB for us when we had little if anything else. Out of all the skins of late, everytime you were at FEDEX early and went down to the lower seats and called him 95% of the time he would come over. During minicamp who was the favorite? LAVAR ARRINGTON, so for all you out there laughing don't laugh yet especially since we are yet to play him. Who's to say that he isn't playing all out and just taking his time to get back into game shape FOR US? I think that he atleast is owed the benefit of the doubt and remember all this negative stuff was a NON ISSUE until the contract 6.5 million problem. So for me I will continue to root for his comeback and if and when he makes a full recovery and becomes the dominant player he once was I will come back to this thread and make you all eat crow. And if he never plays as he once did, he was awesome here and took Aikman out!! HTTR, I also hope that when he retires he comes back and retires a REDSKIN!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LOUDSKINS Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 he will be walking the streets soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alabama Man Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 sounds like somebody jim johnson could use williams didn't even wanna try and use trotter in his system and he is a perrennial pro-bowler if the price is right, maybe he stock drops eventually Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wbar3383 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 It is a shame that people can want to give BOO-NELL a chance and then continue to down LaVar like this. His knee is not all the way healed and at this point, maybe it won't be. However LaVar was a MAJOR reason why people came to see the skins at FEDEX and no matter what you all say HE WAS A GREAT LB for us when we had little if anything else. Out of all the skins of late, everytime you were at FEDEX early and went down to the lower seats and called him 95% of the time he would come over. During minicamp who was the favorite? LAVAR ARRINGTON, so for all you out there laughing don't laugh yet especially since we are yet to play him. Who's to say that he isn't playing all out and just taking his time to get back into game shape FOR US? I think that he atleast is owed the benefit of the doubt and remember all this negative stuff was a NON ISSUE until the contract 6.5 million problem. So for me I will continue to root for his comeback and if and when he makes a full recovery and becomes the dominant player he once was I will come back to this thread and make you all eat crow. And if he never plays as he once did, he was awesome here and took Aikman out!! HTTR, I also hope that when he retires he comes back and retires a REDSKIN!! You are a fraud. If he makes a recovery your gonna come back and make everyone eat crow eh? But if he doesnt, your gonna quietly bow out. Bah. You can dish it out but you cant take it I guess. You dont deserve to make anyone eat crow unless your prepared to do the same. Friggin hypocrite Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeSkinsfaninNJ Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 so for all you out there laughing don't laugh yet especially since we are yet to play him. Who's to say that he isn't playing all out and just taking his time to get back into game shape FOR US? If this is true, he should be run out of the league. He's paid to play hard every week not just against his old team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaSkinzBaby Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 You are a fraud.If he makes a recovery your gonna come back and make everyone eat crow eh? But if he doesnt, your gonna quietly bow out. Bah. You can dish it out but you cant take it I guess. You dont deserve to make anyone eat crow unless your prepared to do the same. Friggin hypocrite I am prepared to eat crow, I eat it everyday with the moniker I have (arringtonhitz) all I am trying to say is that there was a time when the only bright spot on the Redskins was LaVar but people seem to forget that. :2cents: I do hope he fully recovers because he was a good athlete at one time and if he never fully heals then that is a shame. If you recall when Greg Williams got here he praised LaVar and it wasn't until the injury and the 6.5 million dollar issue that things become so bad, I fault LaVar alot because he still got paid millions for playing a game that many men would lose a testicle for. How much money does a man need? However I do think there is more to this than we as FANS will ever know. I only know being a season ticket holder the amount of #56 jerseys that still are in attendance every home game. Also going to many Summer Camps he was ALWAYS the fan favorite. So if seeking the truth and trying to give him the benefit of the doubt makes me a bad person so be it. I just wish we would have gotten the chance to see a healthy LaVar, Marcus and Sean Taylor play in this defense. The year LaVar got hurt in preseason him and Marcus was developing something special, ask Mike Vick about it! Also if you are brought up believing great things and there is no true coach and players grow used to bypassing the coach and going directly to Daniel Snyder, Cell Phones ringing in team meetings all that stuff that used to go on, Sure LaVar was wrong for thinking he would be able to get away with the same antics. However LaVar and Daniel Snyder was VERY CLOSE at one point and he was even a pall bearer at Dan's father funeral. Then to have someone you thought was family attempt to take 6.5 million from you, I am sure everyone would be livid, and I am quite sure LaVar lost respect as the coaching staff lost respect. So I believe there is bad feelings on both sides but I believe it was originated by the owner. So those are my beliefs and people get screwed everyday even athletes, so this is my opinion and what I see as the truth into the issue because I have access to people close on both sides that gave me the REAL SCOOP regarding this, and for all that want to know, Lavar isn't a doctor and yes his athletic acumen allowed him a free ride at Penn State as it allowed Larry Johnson, I can't go more into detail about it but let's just say there were people that both used for the "betterment" of themselves to stay academically eligible. So for all to have hate for LaVar without knowing the full story fine, glad you sleep at night but THOSE ARE THE TRUE HYPOCRITS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skins84 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 I'll always be a fan of Lavar, he's not half the player now that he once was but he was one of my favorite players at one time. He played with great intensity and emotion for us and that's all that matters to me. I wish he never had the injuries and I wish him the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaSkinzBaby Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 I'll always be a fan of Lavar, he's not half the player now that he once was but he was one of my favorite players at one time.He played with great intensity and emotion for us and that's all that matters to me. I wish he never had the injuries and I wish him the best. Agreed, I guess he may be a prime example of why it's become a get all the money while you can sport, little if any dedication to the player :2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NebraSKIN Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Well, I know one thing for sure, LaScar would not ever be considered for Bill Parcells' "Teaching Your Kid Football" DVD LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tizzod Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Well, I know one thing for sure, LaScar would not ever be considered for Bill Parcells' "Teaching Your Kid Football" DVDLOL Hey, maybe you can explain something to me that I have been wondering for a while. What's with people using these idiotic nicknames for players? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaSkinzBaby Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Well, I know one thing for sure, LaScar would not ever be considered for Bill Parcells' "Teaching Your Kid Football" DVDLOL WOW that was cold!! LOL :point2sky :dallasuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaSkinzBaby Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Hey, maybe you can explain something to me that I have been wondering for a while. What's with people using these idiotic nicknames for players? Perhaps a childish immature way to express dissapointment in them not being an athlete??? Even LaScar and his millions!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boss_Hogg Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Well, I know one thing for sure, LaScar would not ever be considered for Bill Parcells' "Teaching Your Kid Football" DVDLOL Why not, who would not want to learn from Mr. Nickels , the awesome LB from the school of "Hard Knocks?" :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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