One of the more interesting subplots in a thoroughly terrible Redskins game Sunday, which consisted of six interceptions, eight fumbles and the best delay of game penalty I've ever seen, was the play of nose tackle Albert Haynesworth.
Haynesworth, who was a lightning rod throughout the offseason for missing some Organized Team Activities, dominated the Bears' offensive line. He was on the field for 33 plays, made two tackles for a loss, two quarterback hits and one sack. Most important, he leapt over the line to stop Jay Cutler on the one-yard line, allowing linebacker London Fletcher to the strip the ball, change the course of the game and seal the 'W' for the Skins.
Many have called this game "Haynesworth's Redemption," pointing to Albert's emotional state after the death of his brother. Or, as Mike Wise of The Washington Post said, "We're so sorry, Uncle Albert. We're so sorry if we caused you any pain." This blatantly ignores the real facts. All Haynesworth's performance Sunday should tell you is how great of a coach Mike Shanahan is. Let's take a look at all the motivational tools Shanahan used with Albert:
- Making him pass a conditioning test no one else had to take. Haynesworth had to sprint 300 yards in 25-yard increments, back and forth from the goal line to the 25-yard line, in 70 seconds - this workout obviously helps linemen, who run 300 yards on almost every play.
- Holding him out two weeks ago against the Colts when he obviously wanted to play and could have made a difference in a three-point game because he missed practice for his brother's funeral
- Forcing him to play in a defensive system the owner promised he would never have to play in
- Humiliating him during the team's fourth preseason game by forcing him to play those defensive snaps in a game usually reserved for marginal players
Wait, those all seem like bad things.
Shut up, alternate voice.
And they're not bad things. How could they be bad things when they resulted in Haynesworth's best performance since he became a Redskin? These are brilliant motivational tools.
The only thing Shanahan left out was the Mike Leach. Haynesworth should have been locked in a shed in Ashburn after his knee injury. We know how well that worked out for Leach. He's in Canton right now, next to Vince Lombardi.
No, he's doing a stupid national radio show on Sirius XM College Sports Nation channel 143 during which you're not allowed to phone in with questions. Trust me - I've called in and tried.
I have no idea what you're talking about. All I know is that football has gotten too soft. All this talk about hits being too hard, defenseless receivers and feeling sorry for Albert Haynesworth is crap. This is the National Football League. This isn't for wimps. Back in the 1950s and 1960s, players didn't practice with water, wear helmets or have to abide by over-protective rules, and they did just fine.
I don't know where we've gotten in this country and in this sport when a coach can't withhold water from his team, or make Albert Haynesworth run, run and run some more without suffering backlash from a lineup of sycophantic reporters.
Guys like Mike Shanahan or the Giants' Tom Coughlin - who fines players for arriving later than five minutes early to meetings - are today's heroes.
More like relics of a bygone era. Football is different now. The players are stronger and faster, offensive strategies - through the wildcat and spread offense - have changed, and disciplinarian coaches aren't the most successful anymore. The coach of the decade, Bill Belichick, isn't a disciplinarian - he's a master strategist who studies so much he always has the right move in his pocket. And his team's success shows how effective it is. That's the future.
I thought I told you to be quiet.
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