Saturday, Sep. 19, 2009

Handling Haynesworth with be a top priority

Redskins star defensive tackle can be a disruptive force

ST. LOUIS -- Asked what kind of problems Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth posed for his team, St. Louis Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo responded with another question.

"Besides having three or four guys needing to block him?'' said Spagnuolo, whose team plays the Redskins at noon Sunday at FedEx Field.

The 6-foot-6, 350-pound Haynesworth signed a seven-year, $100 million contract with the Redskins on the first day of free agency this past winter.

The contract actually is a four-year, $48 million deal because the Redskins are unlikely to pay out the $29 million in salary and bonuses in the fifth season, but it did include what was an NFL record of $41 million in guaranteed money.

Lions rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford later received $41.7 million.

The Redskins shelled out all the money for Haynesworth because he is one of the most disruptive forces in the NFL.

"He is a good football player,'' Spagnuolo said. "He certainly creates problems. Anytime anybody in the NFL has to be accounted for, you must be pretty good, and people certainly have to account for him."

Haynesworth has 24 sacks in seven NFL seasons since the Tennessee Titans drafted him in the first round out of the University of Tennessee in 2002. He had a career-high 8.5 sacks -- a notable number for an interior lineman -- last season.

"Well, he's definitely a force to be reckoned with,'' Rams running back Steven Jackson said. "We're going to have to make sure we're paying attention to where he's at on the line of scrimmage. With that being said, you don't fear. Like I said, we have to execute.

"At this point, it's not about the opponent. It's really about what we're doing on offense. Making sure that when the ball is thrown, we're catching it, and when the ball is run, we're blocking."

Rams left guard Jacob Bell and Haynesworth were teammates with the Titans.

"I played against Albert every day in practice for four years,'' Bell said. "I'm good friends with him. I've seen a lot of film on him. He's one of the best players in the league, but I feel confident going in there that I know what to do. As long as I stick to my plan, I'll be all right.''

Brown wasn't quite as complimentary of Haynesworth during a radio interview a few weeks ago during training camp.

"I'm so glad we're playing Washington early in the year because it's going to be hot out there,'' Brown told ESPN 101.1 FM in St. Louis. "And I'm not sure if you have watched film before, but when he gets fatigued, he taps out. Either he just falls down to the ground and you're like, 'Oh my gosh, is he hurt? Is something wrong with him?'

"No, he's just giving the guy on the sidelines enough time to mosey on out there so he can get up, go to the sidelines, catch a breather, get something to drink and then he comes right back out. And then people are like, 'Oh, I thought he was hurt.' No, he got tired.''

Bell said he didn't know if Haynesworth and he would be exchanging trash talk during the game.

"We'll see in the heat of the game how things go, but hopefully we'll keep it clean,'' Bell said.

Haynesworth played in about three-quarters of the Redskins' 64 defensive snaps in a 23-17 loss to the New York Giants last Sunday. He was credited with seven tackles.

"Albert played 49 plays out of 63,'' Redskins coach Jim Zorn said. "In Tennessee, he averaged about 60 percent of the plays. That was probably even more than 60 percent. It will be somewhere around that, just to keep the rotation going, and when he is in there, he goes very, very hard.

"I think everybody can see that he can really push the pocket, he can be very disruptive, and I think it is good to give a guy like that a breather for a short period of time.''

Rams center Jason Brown, signed this winter as a free agent from the Baltimore Ravens, also has played against Haynesworth.

Brown said Haynesworth uses his size to his advantage.

"He's not the largest (defensive tackle), but he plays like he is the largest,'' Brown said. "He also plays with great leverage, great feet, great hands -- as though he's a 300-pounder even though he's about 350 pounds.''