Leave Fat Albert Alone

I am not really sympathetic when it comes to some players. But Albert Haynesworth is definitely one that gets a bit of sympathy from me and it’s not because of what people think.

He is known around Washington, D.C. as the $100 Million man. And I don’t know what people where expecting, but he is not God. Albert Haynesworth can play both Defensive Tackle (DT) and Defensive End (DE). So from a football standpoint he’s a good player. Now if you had a chance to see Albert in Tennessee, he was the Nose Tackle (NT) or the middle man on a 3-man defensive line. For those of you who don’t know, that Defense is called a 3-4 (3 Defensive Lineman, and 4 Linebackers). Ask any Defensive Coordinator or Inside Linebacker how important is that NT. Or, for argument sake, just ask the Tennessee Titans.

If you don’t know, Tennessee had to change their entire Defensive front because they didn’t have someone to replace Albert. Now Tennessee runs a 4-3 Defense (4 Defensive Lineman, and 3 Linebackers) and they are struggling to create pressure, thus the Titans Defense is not even in the top 10 as of today October 22, 2009.

But I am not really concerned with the Titans right now, because I feel like Vince Young should be starting. But that’s not my team so I’ll leave it alone. Albert Haynesworth’s impact is being felt on our Defense right now. To the naked eye you don’t see the impact, but it took me asking questions and watching individual match-ups during the game to notice how much of an impact Fat Albert has made. But let me break it down for all of you who are reading so you will understand the real deal. Albert Haynesworth is a beast and he is just getting started. Here are some key points to keep in mind when you watch the Redskins play and see Albert Haynesworth on the field:

In the 3-4 Defense, the defensive tackle becomes a nose tackle and lines up over the offensive center. In the 4-3 Defense, ideally, one of the defensive tackles is a two-gap-type run-stuffer. The other is a quick, inside penetrator. Quickness is very important at this position, and many defensive tackles are very successful pass-rushers because they play one-gap techniques and can put inside pressure on the quarterback. Albert Haynesworth can play in both schemes and still be effective. Secondly, Cornelius Griffin and Kedric Golston, the Redskins other DT’s, are freed up to make plays now. And if anyone’s noticed Albert Haynesworth also lines up at Defensive End.

The qualities of the DT and NT are the same, but he is usually a two-gap-type run-stuffer who can occupy two blockers on the inside and free the inside linebackers to make a lot of plays. Has anyone noticed that London Fletcher has been leading the NFL in tackles for about 4 weeks now? Thank Albert Haynesworth for that. Don’t get me wrong, London Fletcher is always at the top for tackles, but he is actually leading the league right now.

Here are some other things to ask yourself when you are watching Albert Haynesworth play:

1. Does he disrupt the other teams running game? (He doesn’t have to make a tackle behind the line of scrimmage to make an impact).

2. Does he disrupt the other teams passing game? (He doesn’t always have to make a sack to make an impact on a particular play, he can get penetration and knock down pass at the line of scrimmage for instance.)

3. How many DT’s do you know that have 14.5 sacks over a two-year period?

4. Did you know that the best Pass Rushers are usually lined up at Right Defensive End? Those are the guys that usually are going to lead your team in sacks. Notice that is where our new Rookie, Brian Orakpo is lined up on 3rd down, and on occasion, you will see… guess who??!!!

5. Did you notice that the lack of a Pass Rush from our Defensive Line is no longer an issue? I wonder why?

Now I understand that most people are really on Albert Haynesworth’s conditioning, and this is where my training background comes into play. There is absolutely nothing that you can do that will, equally, prepare you for the demands of his position of Defensive Tackle. Now couple that with the fact that he does not get the opportunity to play much during the Pre-Season and you have a player who is going to take a while to get into shape. In my training experience you will usually see significant improvements in ones strength and conditioning (assuming you are training this person correctly) in 4-8 weeks. I hate to break the bad news to you people, but he plays DT, now WR. He is constantly pushing against 2 or more bodies on every play. To put this in perspective, do you realize that he is pushing against 600 lbs.+ on almost every play? Can you do that? If you can suggest a way to duplicate that inside or outside the weightroom to increase/improve his conditioning in a manner that carries over to the football field, I am all ears. You can do things that will come close, but nothing matches. If he is still not performing up to your standards by Week 8, I will issue an apology.