The Last Con - Part One

Bait and bitch

That thud you heard this morning was Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth's public image falling dead to the floor in Washington, the death certificate will list cause of death as ACUTE STUPIDITY. Today The Curly R returns with a two part series on Albert Haynesworth's flameout and the likely consequences him and for the team.

Part One: You Hurt My Feelings and Besides I Already Have the Money
Part Two: Under New Management

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In case you missed it, Albert Haynesworth has reappeared, not to attend the mandatory minicamp that started today where he would have shown off his no doubt chiseled physique sculpted in the cauldrons of a private training regimen so rigorous and so far exceeding anything head coach Mike Shanahan could conceive with his paltry thirty five years experience as a football coach that media heads would turn, Jason Reid would blush John Keim would stammer and Rich Tandler would later admit that it moved.

No, Albert reappeared to tell the world through his agent that he will not be attending the mandatory minicamp and further that he demands a trade, and all because he has been lied to. By the team. Now, in the past and presumably in the future.

Here are the empiricals: Albert showed for the very first day of team activities, not to work out but to tell coach Shanahan that he would be pursuing his own offseason conditioning in order to get back to the Pro Bowl level he showed in 2007 and 2008. Then the team paid Albert 21 million dollars bringing his total compensation in one plus seasons to 32 million dollars. Later we learned there were some hard feelings, even after getting a 21 million dollar hug, about how 2009 went down and whether Albert got to be Albert. With Vinny Cerrato and that former management regime in the rearview at this point, everything was possible.

Even the distant early rumblings that the switch to a 3-4 base defense under new defensive coordinator Jim Haslett was not going to work for Albert, Redskins fans were more or less comfortable that for the money Albert was getting and new actual general manager Bruce Allen's desire to turn the Redskins into a winner on the fly without a huge multiyear reclamation project that the two sides would work it out and move forward. And in 2010 the Redskins would once again possess a dominant defense and everyone gets to claim victory.

Now Albert is out with a trade demand and an accusation that he has been lied to, that owner Dan Snyder's big promises - and big checkbook - of letting Albert be Albert were not kept, that former defensive coordinator as old school as you can still get Greg Blache held Albert back and forced him to conform to a scheme that called for Albert to occupy players while teammates made the backfield plays and that no way in hell is he ever going to play in a 3-4 as a nose tackle.

Forget for a moment that Albert seemed out of shape in 2009, got winded easily and as predicted missed a quarter of the season. But remember that when he was having a good game last season, he was having a great game. Now think about what he has done this offseason and what he is asking now.

Albert just made the biggest mistake of his career.


The Last Con concludes tomorrow with part two, Under New Management.



Albert Haynesworth: Reuters Pictures from here.