Quote:
Originally Posted by Skinny Tee
I don't want to be a downer but I would like to be the voice of reason.
Is anyone old enough to remember the Dana Stubblefield and Dan Wilkinson signing years ago?...Don't get too excited for Haynesworth yet because he has yet to show what he can do in OUR system.
We got two stallwort DT's with Stubby and Wilkinson and their effect on our defense was minimal. Haynesworth is one person and subject to the scheme that he plays in.
Let's have some tempered realism with our expectations.
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We signed Stubblefield at the end of his career, much like Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders and half our roster in that "era" I needed a refresher on Wilkinson's production so I checked out his stats. He had 8.0 and 7.5 sacks in his first two years with us, actually up from his previous career average. Then he fell off to 3.5 and 4, but he did have 23 sacks in 4 years and even scored a TD for us. He was never brought in with the expectation of being the top defensive lineman in the game like Haynesworth, neither was the aging Stubblefield even though he was paid nicely from Snyder.
Haynesworth is still young and can have many productive years with us. Also, we've watched Snyder actually learn and become a smarter signer of players over the years. He actually addresses needs now rather than just paying for the best free agents he can get and trying to out-talent other teams. He's a much more competent owner than early in his career, I believe Joe Gibbs taught him a lot.
I trust him now. Back in the "Stubblefield" days, he was a reckless check writer. Now, the Redskins actually have a vision for the future instead of "just win now".