1. The Albert Haynesworth saga. One reason teammates were irked by Albert Haynesworth last season was because he would not play with injuries that appeared to them less than what others were enduring. There’s no doubt about this. Now he has a week where he’s deactivated because he was sick and practiced poorly Thursday and then couldn’t go Friday. It’s hard to imagine someone such as London Fletcher being inactive if the same thing had happened to him. Fletcher, for starters, would not have missed a practice. Phillip Daniels complained all week about being sick; he practiced and played. Maybe Haynesworth was that sick; I can’t say. But I know that teammates notice these things. Early on with Haynesworth and Mike Shanahan, my belief is that he wasn’t going to unload Haynesworth until his teammates soured on him. Early on the players knew or thought they needed Haynesworth to win. They saw the talent, as everyone else did. But now? It’ll be interesting to talk to some players going forward about him. Over the next month they’ll pay attention to his approach and how he plays. But there’s no doubt it’s just going to be one thing after another with him in Washington. Why wait for it to change? It won’t. Oh, and by the way, if there was a heated exchange between Haynesworth and Jim Haslett, I’d say that’s good; then you know maybe it matters.
2. The run defense is bad in any front. Guess it wasn’t just the nickel defense that couldn’t stop the run. But playing so much nickel early in the season obscured the fact that they just can’t stop the run period. How else to explain a team that is missing three starters along its offensive line and has its top two receivers sidelined just jamming it down your throat? The Redskins used eight in the box a decent amount – and it didn’t matter. Kareem Moore charged through the gap and had Brandon Jacobs for a loss, until he missed him. Thing is, why was no one else around? That’s the problem. One guy misses a tackle and it’s a 39-yard run? Come on. Too many defenders struggle to get off blocks. Nose tackle Maake Kemoeatu, who seemed to make strides a few weeks ago, again failed to control the middle. The linebackers weren’t getting off blocks. These are lingering issues. This defense hasn’t tackled well all season, but part of it is they keep putting the secondary in position where they have to make the tackle. Why? Because not enough plays are being made by the front seven. And because they wanted a stronger run defense, it left them devoid of any legitimate pass rush. Eli Manning often had four or five seconds to throw – and he still wasn’t hit when he did unleash the pass.
3. Donovan McNabb was awful. He knows it. Cripes; who doesn’t. McNabb threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. Not sure I remember a game where every decision he seemed to make in the pocket was the wrong one. Saw Mike Sellers break open down the seam; he didn’t throw his way and instead slid to his left where there was an opening. Except he didn’t take it and threw to a covered receiver for a deflection. Another time on a bootleg, Fred Davis broke open on a cross – McNabb had him in his sights; he didn’t throw it. James Davis was breaking open down the opposite sideline. Didn’t throw it. Instead, McNabb ran, was tackled and fumbled. And when the Redskins threatened to make it a two-score game, he sat in the pocket for about four seconds and then, still not under duress, he threw into double coverage in the end zone for a pick. McNabb had thrown six interceptions in his career vs. the Giants entering this game. It was just one bad play after another for him.
4. A long road awaits. Take a look at the schedule and let me know if you see a possible win in the next four games. Doesn’t mean the Redskins won’t win, but they’ll be the underdogs in each game the rest of the way. It’s not just about the rest of the season, however. The Redskins face a long road when it comes to rebuilding this roster. No longer can they hang onto the “We have the right talent” line. They don’t. They turned over 60 percent of the roster last year; look for a 40-percent turn this time around. Look two years down the road and try to think about who would be key parts of this offense? Trent Williams, Chris Cooley, maybe Fred Davis, maybe Anthony Armstrong as a No. 3 and then who? Granted, it only matters about 2011, but don’t you think other teams in this division have a better idea? They can’t do another patchwork roster and expect to win. They have found some good extra parts, like a Brandon Banks; but so much more work remains.
5. This was the most upset the locker room have been all season. It should be that way given the performance, but it started with Mike Shanahan in the presser, calling the tackling embarrassing and not being shy about why Phillip Buchanon was benched. The players are making him look bad; and Shanahan is ultra-competitive. But it wasn’t just him; Brian Orakpo was clearly agitated about another frustrating loss. It’s actually nice to hear a second-year guy talk about how tired he is of the losing already. Chris Cooley was exasperated; he’s tired of searching for an answer to the same question. The looks on the faces revealed the painful realization that it’s not going to happen again this year. There were high hopes when Shanahan came to town, but it turns out the collapse of the past few years wasn’t just about coaching. It was about the organization and the personnel.
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