From Redskins training camp, Friday, Aug. 6:
1. Albert Haynesworth did not run again this morning; no shocker there. The MRI on his knee Thursday showed no structural damage, which probably didn’t surprise anybody. If there was damage, there’s little chance he could move as does even during individual work — going in and around blocking bags; coming off the ball; running on the treadmill. That’s at least a decent amount of stress to put on the knee. Running the intervals does put a different sort of stress on the knee.
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2. I don’t doubt that he thinks he’s hurt. Here’s the thing: a huge reason why some players were irked with him at the end of last season for not playing through injuries that others, one player said, would have perservered with. A number of players on the defense played with tougher injuries and some required surgery. Most still played.
3. That’s not to say Haynesworth isn’t hurt, but perhaps his threshold is much lower than others. You never know how a guy is really feeling, but I don’t get the sense that he’s faking this just to get out of running. He’s not going to win a battle with Mike Shanahan so I’m not sure he’d really try to get into that sort of contest. If so, he only lowers his value around the league and feeding into the negative stereotype of himself.
4. Shanahan is trying to remake a guy who already has been formed. Joe Gibbs used to say, when others would tell him he could change someone, “What makes you think I can do it in one year when he’s been that way for 20?” Point being, this is who he is. If Shanahan indeed wants to push him as no one has ever done before, as Jason Reid of the Washington Post wrote this morning, then I can’t see how it’s going to work. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Shanahan starts to amp up his public comments about the matter. The guy is good at sending messages
5. One veteran said Haynesworth is fine in the locker room, joking around with players and interacting fine. He said that most, if not all, the players no longer care about the offseason stuff. Not sure I buy that considering how often London Fletcher deflects questions about him. However, one player said that he feels sorry for the offensive linemen when he does return; thinks he’ll come back and play with a little more fury to prove a point. If he really wants out of here — and I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if he still does after this season — then he’ll be extra motivated. Playing end in a 3-4 is not nearly the same as in a 4-3 and he will find that out. They will use him in creative ways at times, but in base packages his job is to free up linebackers.
