Ravens Bring Redskins Back to Earth, Haynesworth Still Unhappy

The Redskins had a bit of a reality check Saturday night with a 23-3 preseason loss to the Balitmore Ravens. After their big win over Buffalo, fans began to raise their expectations dramatically and this loss may have brought them back down to Earth. The headlines have been stolen however by the latest bizarre chapter in the Albert Haynesworth saga, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

The way to evaluate a preseason game is to throw out the score, evaluate how the first team offense and defense played, and then look at the individual performances of the backups. The score is meaningless so despite how one-sided it was, it really is not a big deal. The first team offense did not look too bad, but they still need some work. Donovan McNabb looked good, but his timing was a bit off. He under threw several passes, but that is to be expected with all the different receivers the team is trying out and it is easily fixable when the roster gets set. Speaking of receivers, Anthony Armstrong had another strong performance. I would be surprised if he did not earn a roster spot at this point. Santana Moss also had a good game, but Devin Thomas still has failed to impress. The problem facing this team is that they have one solid starter in Moss, but no one has established themselves as the number 2. Joey Galloway and Malcolm Kelly have had injury problems in the offseason, but Shanahan knows what he gets in Galloway, where as Kelly has shown nothing since he was drafted. If I were to pick the top 4 receivers heading into the season I would say it would be Moss, Thomas, Galloway, and Armstrong.

Clinton Portis looked very good, but his spot is not in question. Larry Johnson may have left the door open for the previously thought "odd man out" Willie Parker after a lack luster performance. And then we come to the offensive line. First round pick Trent Williams had no answer for Terrell Suggs. The offensive line as a whole looked pretty weak. McNabb and Grossman were obviously briefed about it as they reacted to pressure by quickly getting rid of the ball. Still, with an older quarterback who has faced injury problems through out his career you would like to see better protection.

Defensively the team looked pretty solid. The starters only allowed one touchdown and that was after a fake punt that was taken 51 yards to the goal line. Brian Orakpo, who always seemed to be a defensive end/linebacker hybrid is now thriving in the new 3-4 defense. The team constantly pressured quarterback Joe Flacco who was only saved by multiple uncalled holding penalties. LaRon Landry has clearly worked on committing too early. He reacted well to the run, as he always has, but he also seemed more cautious. It is a good step forward. The secondary did take a hit, however, as the only true free safety on the team, Kareem Moore, suffered a knee injury that will keep him out 4-6 weeks.

And then we get to Haynesworth. After the game, Haynesworth let loose saying that he was angry about playing with the backups and then released the big bomb shell saying that the team intentionally underplayed his "condition" to make him look bad for not practicing. Haynesworth is claiming that last week he suffered a muscle condition called rhabdomyolysis. Haynesworth sat out of practice last week with what the team called dehydration and head aches. Before we get into exactly what this condition is, let's take Haynesworth at his word. Has the team done something wrong? No. NFL teams constantly underplay injuries. Teams want opponents to prepare for players who may or may not be playing. What's more, Hayneworth has been enough of a media headache. Why would the team come out and say he has some random muscle condition that would spark another media circus?

So did he have it? Well, there is some speculation. You have a player who does not want to practice who is now claiming he has a condition that will not allow him to practice and it clears up just in time for him to get angry about not starting. Sound suspicious? Sure. When I used to play football in high school you would constantly see magical injuries and illnesses that would last all week and disappear on game day so there is definitely some question as to whether he is telling the truth, especially when the team was completely unaware of what can be a serious condition.

Rhabdomyolysis is a muscle condition that causes an abnormal amount of muscle breakdown that releases a large amount of protein into the blood stream that can be very dangerous to the kidneys. It can be serious if not treated and it would certainly prevent a player from practicing or playing. Its symptoms include dehydration and headaches so they are consistent with what has kept Haynesworth out. The most important thing to know about this condition is who gets it. According to Dr. Michael Kaplan of ESPN, "Typically we see it more often in someone who's not as well conditioned and particularly if they have sudden and significant onset of exertion...." So Haynesworth refuses to work out with the team in the offseason saying he can get in better shape with his own personal trainer. He comes to camp and repeatedly fails the conditioning test. When he does begin to practice he gets a muscle condition that is brought on when someone that is "not as well conditioned" faces significant exertion. Essentially, if he had this condition, he got it because he is out of shape. Period. And, what is even more perplexing is that in his little temper tantrum he already said that he's not going to offseason work outs next year either. You have failed the conditioning test and faced a potentially serious condition because you are out of shape. This guy just doesn't get it.

At this point what can you do with him? He's getting paid too much money to simply cut unfortunately. I thought heading into the season that if both sides resigned themselves to working with each other they could make it work, but Haynesworth's immaturity will not allow for this to happen and his conditioning is so bad that he constantly needs to be subbed out. Best case scenario at this point would be for another team to lose their starting defensive tackle for the season with an injury that would force them to make a deal for Haynesworth. If we're lucky we could turn it into a 2nd round pick, but my guess is that at best we get a 3rd round pick. After all the money we've paid this guy, we are now keeping our fingers crossed for a 3rd round pick, that's sad.

Handling Haynesworth

Despite all the demands for trades, despite all the outcry against him, despite all the desperate attempts to unload him, Albert Haynesworth remains a member of the Washington Redskins and is set to report the training camp with the team this week. In a very positive offseason for the team, Haynesworth has been the one negative story that has hung over the Redskins. After all the different chapters to this story, both sides find themselves stuck with one another and Mike Shanahan has to figure out how to dissolve the situation.

Just to briefly sum up the situation, Haynesworth was given a seven year $100 million dollar contract and has failed to live up to expectations in his first season with the team. After the 2009 season, the team reportedly shopped around to see what they could possibly get in a trade, angering Haynesworth. Haynesworth was also upset at the hiring of Jim Haslett as the team's defensive coordinator because he was going to use a 3-4 defensive scheme with Haynesworth at nose tackle, a position he adamantly does not want to play. So despite his enormous contract and receiving checks from the team, Haynesworth refused to show up to offseason workouts, including a mandatory mini camp, and has been widely criticized by teammates, coaches, and the media. He demanded a trade, but his price tag has been just too high and the team was unable to unload him.

The situations seems awkward and volatile, but it is actually pretty easily fixeable for head coach Mike Shanahan. Haynesworth has realized that a trade is not forthcoming and has said that he is coming to training camp so now the ball is in Shanahan's court. He has to realize that for the time being, Haynesworth is not going anywhere. This may not be such a bad thing if he can difuse the situation. Despite all the offseason nonsense, Haynesworth has apparently been training very hard and has lost about 30 lbs. Ok, so 2009 was not a great year. Instead of being the defensive monster we had hoped for, he seemed more like a big baby that ran to the sideline for a blanket and a juice box after taking one or two snaps. If he's in better shape now, then he'll be able to last longer out on the field. The simple truth is that our defensive line is better with Haynesworth than it is without him. It looks like he's resigned himself to playing another year in Washington so why not use him?

Using a big man that will pout all season and is unliked by all of his teammates does not help, so simply acting like nothing has happened is not an option. When Haynesworth reports, Shanahan should bring him into his office and explain the situation. He chose to come to Washington and he's getting a lot of money to play football. If he wants to be traded, it is in his best interest to prove he can still play and who knows? If he plays the season like a monster and regains the respect of his teammates and fans, then he may find out he actually likes it in DC and he can build on that next season. But if he is going to play, it will be as a nose tackle in the 3-4 and there is nothing he can do about it. Shanahan also needs to tell him to speak to the media once and tell them he's ready to play football this season and then not talk to them again for the rest of the season. Haynesworth got into a lot of trouble mouthing off about former coodrinator Greg Blache's scheme last season. Once the Redskins get a loss under their belt this season, Haynesworth may find the urge to vent to the media and say "I told you so" and "This just doesn't work" and whatever else he may think about the 3-4.

After talking to Haynesworth, Shanahan then needs to get the players together and give Haynesworth the chance to explain himself to his teammates in a players only meeting. Let all the players air out their grievances and get it all out before hand. Team is such an important part of football and you cannot have this kind of thing hanging over everyone's head the whole season. At some point, it will explode and it will be a lot uglier than talking about it before you even get into the swing of things. Once this is done, Haynesworth and the team can tell the media it's resolved and we're moving on, and everyone can put it all behind them and start thinking about the season.

Haynesworth might not want to get a talking to from his coach or be paraded in front of the team, but it needs to happen. It is better for everyone involved to solve this issue now, early on. If he wants a trade, no one will take him if he continues to pout, play at less than 100%, and complain about his team. The defense will be better with Hayneworth leading rather than dividing and with a brand new coaching staff it is better to solve these problems quickly and quietly rather than allow them to plague the team in their first season in charge. This would be an easy way to nip it in the bud and the team would find themselves with a formidable defensive line to go with the much improved (hopefully) team.