The contract Albert Haynesworth received early this morning from my beloved Redskins makes him the highest paid defensive player in the history of the NFL. A 7 year $100 million deal doesn't come with low expectations. Fans here will be foaming at the mouth with the hopes that the numbers Haynesworth puts up are worth the $14.5 million he's getting per year.If this is the case then call Haynesworth a bust right now. Before he's even introduced at Redskins Park Haynesworth is a bust.
This perception only rings true if the expectations for Haynesworth are set unattainably too high. People in DC will expect Haynesworth to have 20 sacks, 10 forced fumbles, 30 tackles-for-loss, and atleast 1 touchdown return. For a defensive end this may warranted since defensive ends are defensive playmakers. Defensive tackles on the other hand are more or less the unsung heroes of the defense. By clogging the middle and drawing doubles teams nearly every play, DTs allow the linebackers time to read and react to the play and hold up the interior offensive line from getting downfield to block on the 2nd level. DTs also help out the ends by ruining the lane for which the QB can step into when speed rushers beat their men on the outside. So while the stats for DTs may not be as showy as DEs you'll find that when you do not have a presence in the middle your defense suffers in creating big play, i.e. 2008 Redskins.
Now I am not saying that Haynesworth is a bust already nor am I saying that he will live up to the expectations that he will get by coming here to D.C. I just want to make sure that everyone knows that an interior defensive lineman helps the team in ways that stats do not show. So for everyone from the D.C. area, or anyone for that matter, that reads this (probably zero overall); Haynesworth's production will be more of a summation of the overall improvement of the defense rather than individual statistics.
