nfl.fanhouse.com: Haslett slams Haynesworth

[ECU-ALUM]

http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/12/09/jim-haslett-takes-turn-criticizing-albert-haynesworths-work-eth/?ncid=edlinkusspor00000004

The gloves are off.

[tr1]

Jim Haslett Takes Turn Criticizing Albert Haynesworth's Work Ethic, Maturity

By David Elfin

NFL Writer

http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2010/12/09/jim-haslett-takes-turn-criticizing-albert-haynesworths-work-eth/?ncid=edlinkusspor00000004

Haynesworth was always positive about Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, from the time he first talked to the press corps this year back in training camp through the last time he did so last Sunday, two days before Haynesworth was suspended for the rest of the season without pay by Redskins coach Mike Shanahan.

So Haslett spent more than four months walking a tightrope between the boss, who hired him to install the 3-4 defense, and the player, who adamantly objected to being a part of it.

Thursday, Haslett took off the gloves and said what he really thought of Haynesworth, one of the world's richest and laziest football players.

"I saw a guy who just got $100 million play bad as a three-technique," Haslett said of watching Haynesworth on tape after coming to Washington in January. "Then ... a defensive coordinator (Greg Blache) left, I saw a guy who blasted him, saying, 'Well, I didn't like the defense. I didn't like the way I was used.' So can you ever make the guy happy? I don't know. ...

"He wasn't happy this year with the 3-4. He wasn't happy last year with the 4-3. What else do you want to do? Want to run a 2-5? ... I don't think I've ever had a player tell me he didn't want to play (the base 3-4) and then later say he didn't want to play nickel versus the run, (saying) 'Just play me on third downs.' We tried to accommodate him. It's a shame because he's athletic enough. He can do almost anything he wants. Obviously, he didn't want to do it."

"Do I still like Albert? Yeah, I really like the guy. But sooner or later ... he's going to have to grow up."

-- Jim Haslett on Albert Haynesworth Haslett, not surprisingly backed Shanahan's decision to declare Haynesworth inactive for last Sunday's critical NFC East game at New York, one in which the Giants pounded the Redskins 31-7.

"I think Mike made the right decision to make him inactive," Haslett said. "We know over the years, based off what we saw last year in film, when he doesn't practice well or he doesn't show up for Christmas -- -- whatever the situation is -- then he doesn't play well. ...

"If the guy's not willing to do what you want (him) to do and you're the head coach, and the guy doesn't practice well on Thursday -- about as poor as I've ever seen -- and then Friday, (he has) a so-called illness (so) that he doesn't practice, then, if I'm the head coach, (I've) got to make a decision: What's best for the football club?"

As for the 29-year-old Haynesworth's future, Haslett said the big man has to mature if he wants to keep playing in the NFL.

"Do I still like Albert?," Haslett said. "Yeah, I really like the guy. But sooner or later ... he's going to have to grow up and understand what's going on. ... My father told me, 'There's things in the world that you're not going to want to do, but if you want to get ahead in the world, you're going to have to do it.' Well, I think we're at that point (with Albert). Not everybody in the National Football League is going to let Albert just do what he wants on the field. It doesn't work that way."

Work is not something that Haynesworth prefers, especially once he had pocketed more than $30 million from the Redskins in less than a year and half, before he even reported for training camp in July after skipping the entire offseason program -- including the mandatory minicamp -- because he didn't want any part of the 3-4.

And now his coaches don't want any part of him.

[SkinsWarrior81]

This made me Lol.

I want to blame Has for a lot of the issues with the defense as it is currently, but it is becoming pretty clear he just does not have the personnel to do the job right. Wish they would have just kept it as a 4-3 and slowly worked in people to make a 3-4 over a couple years.

[authentic]

@ the title...for a split second i was thinking of when Hulk Hogan body Slammed Andre the Giant in Wrestle Mania back in 87...

[Chicken Fried]

Just think about all the guys out there who would actually pay to get onto the field in a Skins uniform; then, there's the fat slob who won't even do the job he agreed to do while being paid $21 million +

[S.T.real,lights,out]

What a waste of time and money this guy was!

[SkinsWarrior81]

@ the title...for a split second i was thinking of when Hulk Hogan body Slammed Andre the Giant in Wrestle Mania back in 87...

hahahahaha... the image of Haslett picking up Fat Al is awesome. Someone photo shop this. Now. haha

[BKSkinsFan]

Yeah but uh we can still get a 2nd round pick for him right? :fingersx:

[Champskins]

The NFL just needs to make performance contracts and clauses. You don't perform and meet a certain level, then You don't get paid, simple as that. I knows it our faults as the fans that these guys get paid so much becuase we watch and buy the merchandise but this has to stop. I really wish I could stop watching for at least a year and people would join me so these guys would make normal salaries for guys without an education for the most part. No one should make over a million dollars a year, not even close, for a game

[maskedsuperstar]

This made me Lol.

I want to blame Has for a lot of the issues with the defense as it is currently, but it is becoming pretty clear he just does not have the personnel to do the job right. Wish they would have just kept it as a 4-3 and slowly worked in people to make a 3-4 over a couple years.

Thats what they are doing. And they don't line up in a 3-4 on every down.

[authentic]

Ok after reading the quotes from players and coaches, we can dispel several media-generated myths.

Myth#1: No body reached out to Al during the offseason: reality....Coaches and players alike attempted multiple times to speak with him about how he could be used in the new scheme.

Myth#2: The coaches were too stubborn to adjust the scheme to play to Fat Al's strengths: reality....Al didn't like the 4-3 last year, Al didn't want to play the nose in the 3-4 this year. The coaches figured he could probably play end, but he didn't like that either. There was no way to accomodate him.

Myth#3: Why did the FO give Fat Al the $21m on April 1st if he was so disruptive?....reality: Fat Al was due his (guaranteed) roster bonus, per the terms of his original contract. Therefore, the blame is not on the CURRENT FO.

Myth#4: Players and coaches are now running thier mouths, after the fact, but weren't brave enough to approach him during the season. reality....Coaches and multiple players attempted to reach out to Fat Al, tried to befriend him. But the truth is that he was never motivated to do what the coaches asked him to do. Its clear that he was insobordinate...

***so now that we have the facts....Doc, Bmitch, and the rest of the local mediots needs to SHUT UP!!

[bishtw]

I wish someone would slam Jim and crack one of his ribs or something, Can a coach be put on the IR or the PUP? Sad to say, but everything he is saying is probably right but when reading this I can help but think about the saying "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?".

[TheGreatBuzz]

I'm wondering how other teams/coaches view this.....

And I don't mean that is a "what can we get for him in a trade" way. I mean I would like to know what a REAL football professional, preferably a coach, that is un-biased towards the skins and Al reads out of this whole situation.

Maybe we should ask Josh McDaniels....I hear he has some free time.

[greenspandan]

the redskins aren't the only team with ridiculous drama. just ask any of the 3 teams randy moss has played for this season.

[tr1]

If any coach looks at Fat Al's tape over the last two years, they'd offer little to nothing for him.

I prefer the suspension and embarrassment he now has to suffer. Whenever he's mentioned in the future, that dive he took against the Eagles should be the highlight that is shown.

That clip pretty much sums up his 'desire' to continue playing.

---------- Post added December-10th-2010 at 11:40 AM ----------

the redskins aren't the only team with ridiculous drama. just ask any of the 3 teams randy moss has played for this season.

This is an excellent point.

Skins fans tend to be myopic when it comes to personnel problems.

The NFL is full of them.

[Geoff_K]

bench him until his contract ends. let him sit there and just watch as his career ends is my vote

[budski]

In short according to Haslett Albert is a likeable lazy football player.

[TheLongshot]

Ok after reading the quotes from players and coaches, we can dispel several media-generated myths.

Myth#1: No body reached out to Al during the offseason: reality....Coaches and players alike attempted multiple times to speak with him about how he could be used in the new scheme.

We knew that during traning camp from Big Al's mouth when he said he talked to Haslett was able to come to some sort of agreement with him.

Myth#2: The coaches were too stubborn to adjust the scheme to play to Fat Al's strengths: reality....Al didn't like the 4-3 last year, Al didn't want to play the nose in the 3-4 this year. The coaches figured he could probably play end, but he didn't like that either. There was no way to accomodate him.

Well, I think moving to a 3-4 when you don't remotely have the talent to do so was a mistake anyways. It is probably true that Big Al might have been unhappy no matter what was being done, but at least sticking with a 4-3 we would have gotten from decent value from him on the field.

Myth#3: Why did the FO give Fat Al the $21m on April 1st if he was so disruptive?....reality: Fat Al was due his (guaranteed) roster bonus, per the terms of his original contract. Therefore, the blame is not on the CURRENT FO.

Actually it is, because they could have cut his ass before he got the bonus. They knew most of this before he was going to get his roster bonus, but decided to stick it out anyways and nothing really changed. Gibbs, for all of his faults, was very good at getting rid of players who didn't want to be here. Instead, Shanahan made the same mistake Marty made with Jeff George.

Myth#4: Players and coaches are now running thier mouths, after the fact, but weren't brave enough to approach him during the season. reality....Coaches and multiple players attempted to reach out to Fat Al, tried to befriend him. But the truth is that he was never motivated to do what the coaches asked him to do. Its clear that he was insobordinate...

Again, we knew most of this during the offseason. There were plenty of stories of McNabb and Alexander talking with Big Al. Many said that they tried to get him to show up for offseason workouts.

[Larry Brown #43]

Well, I think moving to a 3-4 when you don't remotely have the talent to do so was a mistake anyways. It is probably true that Big Al might have been unhappy no matter what was being done, but at least sticking with a 4-3 we would have gotten from decent value from him on the field.

I feel pretty confident that changing to the 3-4 was a mistake, but not because of Albert. One of the few benefits of shifting to the 3-4 was it exposed Albert for the "me-first" POS that he is. Yeah, we kind of already knew it, but this year's events fully revealed Al's true colors. 4-3 or 3-4, I don't believe we ever would have won anything significant with that guy.

We probably should have gotten rid of him before the season for the team's sake. But as for the $21 million bonus...my understanding is that Albert was due that money one way or another, even if we had cut him. It was a guaranteed portion of his contract. The team decided to give him the money all at once to capitalize on the uncapped 2010 season. But guaranteed money is guaranteed money, so Albert would have gotten that money regardless of whether we cut him or kept him. Giving it to him all at once also had the added benefit of allowing us to cut him after 2010 without owing him another dime in guaranteed money.

So giving Albert the $21 million bonus was not intended to be a reward for Albert as much as it was an opportunity for the team to wash their hands of the guy without future penalty, thanks to the uncapped year.

[authentic]

We knew that during traning camp from Big Al's mouth when he said he talked to Haslett was able to come to some sort of agreement with him.

yeah, but my issue is with what these media fellas have been saying.

Well, I think moving to a 3-4 when you don't remotely have the talent to do so was a mistake anyways. It is probably true that Big Al might have been unhappy no matter what was being done, but at least sticking with a 4-3 we would have gotten from decent value from him on the field.

It may have been a mistake. However it but my point is that the media continued to suggest that they just shoved the scheme down Fat Al's throat. Thus he had reason to be upset. which is obviously not the case.

Actually it is, because they could have cut his ass before he got the bonus. They knew most of this before he was going to get his roster bonus, but decided to stick it out anyways and nothing really changed. Gibbs, for all of his faults, was very good at getting rid of players who didn't want to be here. Instead, Shanahan made the same mistake Marty made with Jeff George.

Had they cut him, he would have been guaranteed the rest of his salary. From what i understand, they had to restructure his contract in March to convert some of his future salary into a roster bonus. That way they could free themselves up to other options (regarding Fat Al) after the season.

Via J.I. Haslell twitter: signing, 21M was in form of a guar option bonus. In March, via renegotiation, #Redskins converted&paid 21M as signing bonus.

Again, we knew most of this during the offseason. There were plenty of stories of McNabb and Alexander talking with Big Al. Many said that they tried to get him to show up for offseason workouts.

Again, my post was more geared towards the local media complaints against the organization. So you know this, i know that they tried to reach out to him. But when you hear Doc and/or Bmitch say "Well, its all a moot point, they should have said something to that man during the season. Don't be a coward". Then yeah, as a fan of the team, i think it was a bit unfair and wreckless to make those claims. Which makes me think sometimes that they have some sort of agenda.

[BrandonJ83]

"Do I still like Albert?," Haslett said. "Yeah, I really like the guy. But sooner or later ... he's going to have to grow up and understand what's going on. ... My father told me, 'There's things in the world that you're not going to want to do, but if you want to get ahead in the world, you're going to have to do it.' Well, I think we're at that point (with Albert). Not everybody in the National Football League is going to let Albert just do what he wants on the field. It doesn't work that way."

To me this quote says a lot. Haslett seems to hold players accountable for how they perform and knows that they have to put in the work during the week to win on Sunday. I think that is how it should be seeing as how these are paid professionals. The scheme change is one thing, not performing well(i.e. tackling, getting no QB pressure) is squarely on the players ability to perform.

[TheLongshot]

I feel pretty confident that changing to the 3-4 was a mistake, but not because of Albert. One of the few benefits of shifting to the 3-4 was it exposed Albert for the "me-first" POS that he is. Yeah, we kind of already knew it, but this year's events fully revealed Al's true colors. 4-3 or 3-4, I don't believe we ever would have won anything significant with that guy.

Well, I don't know about not getting use out of him. While he might have been a PITA, he would have at least contributed. But, given his attitude, I don't know how he can view himself being the best at anything other than as a pass rusher. I mean, he pretty much told everyone that an old, broken down NT is better than him. What an idiot.

yeah, but my issue is with what these media fellas have been saying.

The media must not read their own stuff, because they reported all of this.

It may have been a mistake. However it but my point is that the media continued to suggest that they just shoved the scheme down Fat Al's throat. Thus he had reason to be upset. which is obviously not the case.

I do think Al does have a reason to be upset, but at some point you have to suck it up and do what is asked of you. Had he an ounce of intellegence, he would have sucked it up this season and did what he had to do and then buy his way out of his contract and move on to someplace that does what he wants to do. Instead, he's pretty much poisoned the market for himself. He better like that $21m, because I don't expect he will see much more than that.

Had they cut him, he would have been guaranteed the rest of his salary. From what i understand, they had to restructure his contract in March to convert some of his future salary into a roster bonus. That way they could free themselves up to other options (regarding Fat Al) after the season.

Via J.I. Haslell twitter: signing, 21M was in form of a guar option bonus. In March, via renegotiation, #Redskins converted&paid 21M as signing bonus.

Ok, got some clarification on that:

The Redskins could have declined to pay the bonus, but the $21 million was guaranteed as part of $41 million initially guaranteed in the seven-year, $100-million deal owner Daniel Snyder gave Haynesworth in February of 2009. If Washington chose not to pay the bonus, future base salaries in Haynesworth's contract, up to $21 million, would have become guaranteed, according to two league sources who have reviewed Haynesworth's contract.

That makes more sense. Course, when they renegotiated, they put in the clause where he could buy his way out by giving a lot of it back. It is going to be interesting to see if the team tries to force him to buy his way out. Certainly there is no rush right now to let him go.

Again, my post was more geared towards the local media complaints against the organization. So you know this, i know that they tried to reach out to him. But when you hear Doc and/or Bmitch say "Well, its all a moot point, they should have said something to that man during the season. Don't be a coward". Then yeah, as a fan of the team, i think it was a bit unfair and wreckless to make those claims. Which makes me think sometimes that they have some sort of agenda.

Well, we all know Mitchell's animosity toward the organization is personal. I don't know what Doc's problem is, tho.

[tiger187126]

Doc basically called the players *******, locker room toxic, and the organization shams for using al as the scapegoat for all our problems. I was blown away, I've never heard anyone say those things. It sounds completely off base and I don't get what he was talking about. Then coach just laughs and encourages him.

[authentic]

Doc basically called the players *******, locker room toxic, and the organization shams for using al as the scapegoat for all our problems. I was blown away, I've never heard anyone say those things. It sounds completely off base and I don't get what he was talking about. Then coach just laughs and encourages him.

Yup!, i love Doc...But man, I think people like B. Mitch is really rubbing off on him. He's usually pretty rational in his commentary, but as of late, he's been sounding a bit disjointed. he says:"Do you hate Al more than you hate the opponent?"- Doc Walker .........give me a break.

[ADF]

You'd think this guy would be embarrassed after taking the nap during the Eagles game. How can you look at yourself in the mirror after that type of effort? I guess our defense is so bad that Al doesn't think he stands out.