Recent Switches to 3-4 Defense Usually Mean Improvement

Baller? Dude played 12 games in 2009. And even then he frequently got "hurt". He had 4 sacks. The whole defense had 40. This isn't a one year thing. If giving him respect means letting him do whatever he wants...I don't want that guy.

thank you.

I don't get your point here.

You think he wasn't a good player in 2009 because he had 4 sacks in 12 games?
That's a pretty weak argument.
Does that mean that Ngata had a bad season too he played 14 games w/ 1.5 sacks.

Here's some facts about Al's 2009 season:
Lets not have revisionist history.
Albert Haynesworth has been one of the top DL throughout his career.
To say otherwise is wrong because it just ain't true.

I'll be the first to say that Al needs to be gone.
But he's an asshat because he's a great player that held talent hostage last year.

He was a bum in 09. We didn't get the guy that was in Tenn.

He was a bum in 09. We didn't get the guy that was in Tenn.

The more reasons why Shanahan and Haslett shouldn't have pinned their 3-4 NT hopes on Haynesworth period.

I know people (rightfully so) get worked up over AH, but in the end I think it was a mistake for Shanny and Haslett to depend on him to be their answer for the NT position. And I think this is a focus of this particular discussion. Once this didn't work out, their back up plan was to pin their hopes on Kemo, who was a big question mark in regards to health, had not played the position for (I think) four years, and was on the decline.

As I have said before, Shanny should've drafted T. Cody with that second rounder we wasted on McNabb and by now we could have been set at the NT position.

He was a bum in 09.I guess because you say so it must be true right?
Despite the facts showing showing otherwise.
You make a great argument, here's my counter:
He wasn't a bum in 2009.
Pretty good huh?

I don't want to get into the AH debate again, so back on topic; GT mentioned a player supply issue w/so many teams using the 3-4. I think the 3-4 has come into vogue due to the no. of quality OLB/DE guys out there. Even though OLB in a 3-4 is a harder position to learn due to some coverage responsibilities, there are more good athletes that fit that body type. Even the 4-3 DEs are lighter these days. So I think finding pass rushers that fit the 3-4 as OLB is easier than finding good 4-3 DEs. We'll see if that's true w/Kerrigan.

On the flip side, good DTs & NTs are always in demand. GT makes the point that the skins d line was aging & would've been an issue even if we ran the 4-3. This draft took some steps to address the d-line.

Overall, I don't fault the transition to 3-4 too much due to the emphasis that was placed on aggressiveness & creating turnovers. They weren't as successful as we would've liked in that regard, but they seemed to realize they didn't have the personel to just shut teams down, they would have to make big plays.

He was a bum in 09. We didn't get the guy that was in Tenn.

The inability to get production out of veteran free agent acquisition seems to plague this team. With a few exceptions (London Fletcher comes to mind), we haven't been able to get productivity out of a big time FA signing, and that includes this FO regime (McNabb). I do hope that they are able to change this in the seasons to come.

I don't get your point here.

You think he wasn't a good player in 2009 because he had 4 sacks in 12 games?
That's a pretty weak argument.
Does that mean that Ngata had a bad season too he played 14 games w/ 1.5 sacks.


Come on, sir. That argument is weak sauce. Ngata and Haynesworth played completely different positions. By the definition of a 3-4 defensive end, Haloti Ngata isn't supposed to get a lot of sacks. He's a run stuffer and tackler first, pass rusher second.

All Albert wants to do is rush the quarterback (that's what he's said he wants to do), so you'd think a guy who only wants to rush the quarterback would have the same sort of production he'd had in the two years prior. Now, I will concede that having Haynesworth in there helped the rest of the defense get their sacks by getting double teams, which opened things up for other pass rushers.

But he still pulled himself off the field. Playing in 12 games and then leaving some of those twelve games early? No es bueno. Albert has the most active "off" switch of any player in the NFL. Those four sacks he got? He got three in the first eight games of season. Which is okay. Then he didn't get a sack until week 15 in 2009. That's to go along with pedestrian numbers in tackles and creating no turnovers.

When the man wants to turn it on and play, he can play with the best of them. But when he doesn't? He's okay-ish.

Moving away from the AH debate (which this thread really shouldn't turn into) I think the key to our defense this year will be the defensive line. I think we are on the verge of having a great OLB group in Orakpo and Kerrigan. Without a D-Line that can push and take up the opponents O-Line, their talents will be wasted.

Also, we need to have a second ILB to play along with Fletcher. Who will that be? I don't know, but I'd like to see a young player step into this role and take over Fletcher once he is done.

I really like Robert Henson. I know he's undersized or whatever...but so is Fletcher. And I've never seen one guy go so hard in the fourth game of the preseason. The guy wants wants to play so hard. "I want winners! I want people who wanna win!"

Here's an interview I did with him for Bleacher Report back around draft time.

I also want to see Perry Riley step up. I think between those two guys we might be solid at inside linebacker if they're really ready to play.

Here's the article. (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/683974-2011-washington-redskins-an-interview-inside-linebacker-robert-henson)

I really like Robert Henson. I know he's undersized or whatever...but so is Fletcher. And I've never seen one guy go so hard in the fourth game of the preseason. The guy wants wants to play so hard. "I want winners! I want people who wanna win!"

Here's an interview I did with him for Bleacher Report back around draft time.

I also want to see Perry Riley step up. I think between those two guys we might be solid at inside linebacker if they're really ready to play.

Here's the article. (http://bleacherreport.com/articles/683974-2011-washington-redskins-an-interview-inside-linebacker-robert-henson)

You're KC Clyburn? No kidding. I don't care for much of what's on Bleacher Report, but I think your work is pretty good.

Makes sense, as you've had good posts here too