The Albert Haynesworth Experiment Ends In New England

Added on Nov 09, 2011 by Scott in

NFL

When the pundits evaluated the Patriots decision to trade for troubled defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth back in August, it was called a low risk, high reward move. As the weeks of the 2011 season ticked by, the risk began to seriously outweigh the reward and finally came to a head during Sunday’s loss to the Giants. Yesterday, Bill Belichick ended the failed experiment by releasing Haynesworth.

The always guarded Belichick spoke in platitudes rather than offering a specific reason for Haynesworth’s dismissal.

“I’ll just say this on the Albert situation: I thought that both he and myself — speaking for the (coaching) staff — we really tried to make it work,” Belichick said. “He had a few physical limitations to overcome when he got here, but I thought he really tried to do what we asked him to do. We tried to work with him. In the end, it just didn’t work out. I think the best thing we could do was just move on.”

Reading between the lines: Haynesworth was a fat, lazy malcontent who didn’t buy into the Patriots way of doing things, so he was kicked to the curb.

Haynesworth recorded only three tackles and zero sacks in six games. He was removed from Sunday’s loss after being manhandled on Brandon Jacobs’ third quarter touchdown run. He was later seen arguing with defensive line coach Pepper Johnson, which certainly didn’t help his cause.

This is just the latest release of a high-profile player by the Patriots. Former first-round safety Brandon Meriweather was cut prior to the season and free agent cornerback Leigh Bodden was dumped on October 28th after a slow recovery from an injury.

Chad Ochocinco better be looking over his shoulder. The petulant wide receiver has a whopping nine catches for 136 yards and hasn’t had a reception since Week 5. He’s been on his best behavior off the field, but his meager results on the field could have Belichick looking elsewhere for help.

As for Haynesworth, some tackle needy team will likely scoop him up before the season is over and inevitably be disappointed by his lack of effort.

Source: ESPN.com