Adam Archuleta excited Redskins coaches with his free agent visit. They spent an entire day watching film, talked defensive philosophy and shot questions back and forth.
Then they made him the NFL’s highest-paid safety.
Eight weeks into the season they made him the highest-paid backup safety, replaced in the starting lineup by Troy Vincent, signed less than a month ago. Archuleta still played, but only in certain packages.
“There’s a lot of parts to the equation, some things I don’t need to get into at this point,” Archuleta said. “It’s up to me when I’m on the field to play well.
“It’s just a matter of me getting back to who I am and playing the game through my eyes and not someone else’s and things will work out.”
In part because of injuries at cornerback, Washington has used its safeties more in pass coverage. But when the Redskins signed him, numerous league evaluators said the same thing: Archuleta’s not good in coverage.
Sunday, he typically was positioned near the line of scrimmage in the six-defensive back package.
“I have a hard time trying to fault the fact that when we have a guy who has [47] interceptions in Troy Vincent and when you’re trying to get a takeaway, not getting him on the field as much as possible,” Redskins assistant head coach/defense Gregg Williams said. “Adam will contribute. Adam will be more that pressure guy along the line.”
Said Archuleta, “In my opinion, and in the opinion of a lot of people, I excel underneath. I’ve come under criticism that I can’t cover. Do I agree with that? No. Are there safeties who are better in the passing game than me? Absolutely. Unfortunately our secondary has given up big plays and I’ve been a part of that.”
He’s far from the only defender having a tough season; Washington is ranked 30th for a reason. But he replaced a popular player in Ryan Clark and his mistakes are magnified because they result in big plays. Plus there’s that six-year $30 million contract.
“I wasn’t born with a silver spoon so to come in here as a high-profile situation,” Archuleta said, “I’m not used to that. I allowed that, as well as other things, to be a distraction and get in the way of who I am and what I’ve done to get to this point.”
But he remains confident.
“I’ve always had detractors,” Archuleta said. “This is one more obstacle. You better believe I will come back and play the way I’m capable of playing.”
Week 10 Notes
» Redskins safety Troy Vincent, who spent eight years in Philadelphia, said Sunday won’t be an emotional homecoming for him.
“Oh no, I’m a big boy, I’ve played in a lot of big games,” he said. “I’ve moved on. They’ve had success without me and I’ve had success beyond that organization. I’m trying to get the Redskins that fourth victory.”
And he doesn’t expect a lot of love from his old fans.
“Hey, they boo Santa Claus,” he said. “I won’t be surprised if they boo me; I’m in a Washington Redskins uniform.”
» Though the Redskins offense has struggled to find consistency, it at least looks solid statistically. Washington is ranked in the top 10 offensively in six categories, including rushing yards per game and yards per carry. But the Redskins are 15th overall and 21st in passing yards per game.
