Thoughts on the Haynesworth Sitch

When the news about Albert Haynesworth holding out surfaced I have to admit, I wasn’t surprised in the least. I’ve seen quite a few red flags raised with this guy. He’s come across as nothing more than a selfish, greedy person. Now he’s doing his best to cement that image for himself.

His biggest problem seems to be the fact that he feels the Redskins aren’t using him properly. And I suppose if I was in his position, I’d be worried too. I mean, if you know your limits and someone is asking you to do something outside of them that you know you can’t do effectively, there’s cause for concern. I’m sure Albert doesn’t want to be exposed, even though he’s slowly doing it himself.

The Redskins are making a push to a 3-4 defense this year, and Albert knows he doesn’t fit that scheme. He’s a 4-3 defensive tackle. He can’t play the nose in a 3-4 and he can’t play end in a 3-4. So he feels the most professional solution to this problem is not to be professional about it.

Here is a guy whom Mike Shanahan gave the opportunity earlier this year to either A) sign for his release or B) sign to take his $21 million roster bonus. He chose the roster bonus. Now he’s putting the Redskins through the ringer. I think that’s all that needs to be said about what kind of person Albert is.

But he’s put his current employer in a really bad situation. The Redskins have a few options. They could bite the $21 million and kick his ass to the curb, but I don’t think Dan Snyder is ready to do that. They could try and reason with him and work out some sort of amicable solution, but Albert doesn’t seem to be the type to do anything that doesn’t result in him getting 100% benefit from it. Or they could try and trade him. But with so many teams moving to the 3-4, and the fact that he’s grossly overpaid, he’s becoming less and less of a commodity. The players that are attractive are the ones that have some versatility, something Haynesworth doesn’t have.

So while it’s easy to say the Redskins were fools to sign him to such a large contract, which they were, you have to feel for them a little on this one. They’re essentially being held hostage. And for a team trying to erase a culture that creates greedy monsters like Haynesworth, that’s not a good position to be in.

This situation is going to get worse before it gets better. The Skins may just be better off eating the $21 million and dropping this guy like a bad habit because the other two scenarios I mentioned don’t seem like they’d work. One thing is for sure, Albert Haynesworth is nothing more than a greedy, self centered, me first person who doesn’t deserve the luxuries a TEAM sport has provided him.

Technorati Tags: Albert Haynesworth, Dan Snyder, Mike Shanahan, NFL, Washington Redskins

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