Today the Washington Redskins suspended Albert Haynesworth—a guy they signed under much fanfare just a season ago.He was supposed to be the catalyst behind a burgeoning Redskins' defense that was going to be built for stopping the run and making opposing quarterbacks miserable.
Unfortunately for the Redkins, Albert Haynesworth proved to be just the guy that many thought he was—a 'take the money and run' guy (or in his case, a take it and sit on your backside one).
Haynesworth hasn't been effective at all this season, and his explanation is that he's better suited for a 4-3 defense than the 3-4 that Shanahan tried to force him into when he took over the head coaching job.
Haynesworth was uncomfortable playing nose tackle (a key position in the 3-4) and refused to be pushed into a spot he didn't feel built to play. After all, the Redskins knew what they were getting when they acquired him—their decision to change schemes and coaches a year after he signed was on them—Albert wasn't going to let anyone tell him how to play the game of football.
And, to be honest, with that kind of money going into his bank account, he had no reason to concern himself with things like conditioning, practice, or attending team meetings. He had better things to do with his valuable, and expensive, time. Most understood that Albert was about Albert. He wanted a big payday and he played to get it. Once he did, he became a useless pile of flub—fair or unfair—that's what happened.
Now the Skins' fans are forced to suffer through another idiotic move by their clueless owner—Dan Snyder.
Make no mistake, the most egregious mistake the Washington Redskins franchise ever made was in allowing a rich hack like Snyder to take over their team. He's done nothing but make bad decision after bad decision since his arrival.
Just to name a few: there was Steve Spurrier (the overpaid college coach who played more golf during the regular season than most people do in an offseason), Jason Taylor (just...wow), Deion Sanders (one-year blunder), Jason Campbell (three draft picks and a lot of losing), Brandon Lloyd (bust with an attitude), Jeff George (Seriously?!?), DeAngelo Hall (No, really...he's not good), etc.
The list is long, and uncomfortable, and Dan Snyder has his 'John Hancock' on most of it—that makes him the biggest bust of the decade and, unfortunately, unless he decides to cut bait and move on, Washington is stuck floundering under his gross incompetence.
If the Redskins are ever going to return to their glory days, Dan Snyder has to go—soon. Otherwise, you can expect to see more pink slips in the near future...any bets on how much longer Donovan McNabb will be taking up residence?
