Up 2-0 in the series, I think most Flyers fans assumed they had their ticket punched to the Stanley Cup. Well the Canadiens had other things in mind. Last night Montreal came back with a vengeance, beating the Flyers 5-1, and cutting that once insurmountable lead in half.

The Flyers goalie Michael Leighton reverted back to his former self after not allowing a single goal in the first two games of this series. With a solid defense in front of him, Leighton stymied the Canadiens offense. An offense that while not the highest scoring, had gotten past both the Capitals and Penguins in the first two rounds. The other shoe dropped on Leighton and Flyers in a big way last night as the Canadiens offense came alive.

Leighton had never really been a starter, and in fact had played just 12 NHL games before this season. He was always considered a solid emergency goalie, in case one of your top 2-3 went down, but was never deemed a top prospect. Leighton ended up getting his chance mid-way this season when injuries opened up a spot on the Flyers. He responded by posting a 16-5-2 mark, helping Philadelphia secure a playoff spot. Leighton too went down with an injury in the last month of the season, so he started the playoffs on the bench. He ended up saving the Flyers in the Bruins series and then followed that up by the two straight shutouts against the Canadiens, but the magic ended last night.

While Leighton did get touched for 5 goals, I don’t think all the blame can be laid at his stakes. While the Canadiens had been out shooting the Flyers, they really stepped it up a notch at home and had plenty of offensive opportunities. Also, the defense failed to clear out in front of the net like they had in the previous games. That combined with a few other lapses on defense, left Leighton more or less on his own. While no one expected Leighton to be perfect throughout the series, the Flyers will have to work with their defense to help protect their journeyman goaltender.

The Habs goaltender also reverted back to his previous form as Jaroslav Halak was dominate last night, allowing one goal late in the third period. After back to back series of stonewalling the best scorers in the league, Jaroslav Halak not only looked human in the first two games of this series, but he looked down right awful. Allowing 7 goals in the two games, and even getting pulled in Game 1. Halak silenced the Flyers offense last night, and helped bring momentum back to the Canadiens side.

While it might be improbable, and seemed impossible after Game 2, I really think the Canadiens will take this series. Halak has shown how dominate he can be, and I think he will pick up his game for the rest of the series and I don’t see the Flyers offense capable of putting up 3-4 goals against him, like they did in the first two games. The Canadiens offense also found somethings that worked last night and I see them having the veteran presence to exploit those for the rest of the series. The fact of the matter is, as much as Michael Leighton is a great story of working his way up, he is not a Stanley Cup goalie. I think Montreal will figure him out and take this series.

The Lakers ran away with last night’s game in the 4th quarter to beat the Suns 124-112, a game which was tied going into the fourth frame. Originally it looked as though the Suns could even the series as they played pretty solid basketball for 3 quarters. But Pau Gasol and the Lakers dominated their 4th quarter and took a crucial 2-0 series lead.

I really thought the Suns would make this a competitive series after the way they dispatched both the Mavericks and Spurs in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Unfortunately, they don’t have an answer for the Lakers star players, like they did for their previous opponents. In Game 1 they couldn’t contain Kobe Bryant who torched them for 40 points, in Game 2 Pau Gasol took advantage of more open looks and led the Lakers with 29.

The Suns strategy to slow down Kobe by double teaming him left the paint wide open for Gasol and company. The Suns were at enough of a size disadvantage in the middle, allowing more space was a death blow to them. The Lakers three big men, Gasol, Andrew Bynum, and Lamar Odom, combined for 59 points most of which came from inside the paint. As a team, the Lakers had 52 points in the paint (not to mention all the fouls that came from in the paint as well), which was one of the biggest keys to this game.

The Suns are getting solid offensive production out of their star players, but have not been able to find a way to slow down or stop the Lakers. Without some major defensive strategy change this series will be over for Phoenix before they know it. First they will have to abandon the double teaming Kobe plan, because that obviously didn’t work. Next they are going to have to find a way to challenge more shots. The Lakers shot 57.7% from the field yesterday, and 56.3% from behind the arc. I guess in one sense the Kobe strategy worked since he shot just 44.4% and 33.3% from 3-point land. Unfortunately outside of Derek Fisher (speaking of which why is he shooting 8 times), no other Lakers player shot under 50% in last night’s game. The Suns can’t let the L.A.’s talented front court beat them like they did. In fact Phoenix should try to double team Gasol and company more on the interior and try to win back the battle for the paint. I think they can sacrifice guarding Fisher, since the Suns best defensive strategy last night was letting him shoot. Honestly though it is probably too little, too late to change the outcome of this series.

Los Angeles smells blood in the water and they are not going to let up. They are excellent in riding the momentum wave and closing out series when they have the chance. The Lakers now look to runaway with this series, and it wouldn’t be shocking if they end the Western Conference Finals in Phoenix. Even if the Suns can win one game I don’t see this series going past 5 games. The Lakers experience and talented starting 5* (I’m including Odom for Fisher even though he doesn’t start) are too much for the Suns to handle. Phoenix has had a great and improbable run in these playoffs, but it looks like it is quickly coming to an end.

Luck, at least the good kind, isn’t something you usually associate with the Washington Wizards. But that could all change after they won the top pick in last night’s NBA Draft Lottery. The Wizards moved up from the 5th pick in the draft to nab the top overall pick. This will be their first number one overall pick since 2001 when they selected Kwame Brown (oops). The Wizards will now get the pick of the litter as they try to rebuild from a disappointing year last season. One that saw their best player under house arrest, and the rest of the stars traded away for spare parts and salary relief.

The Wizards will look to put the 2009-2010 season in the past, by drafting a new superstar player. While there are a few choices for the Wizards to pick from, their selection has to be PG John Wall. A strong case could be made for either SG/SF Evan Turner or PF/C DeMarcus Cousins as they both have the star potential as well, but Wall has to be the selection. When it comes to the NBA, point guards and centers are the most important positions on the floor.

Sure plenty of stars like LeBron, Wade and Kobe thrive as 2′s and 3′s, but the ultimate success of a team will come down to their PG and C play. So while Evan Turner is a great player, and could be the next Wade (probably a bit too high of an expectation) you can’t take him unless you already are set at point guard. Now some might point to Gilbert Arenas (whose legal troubles appear to be over) as the team’s starting point guard, but Arenas is more than capable of playing the 2 guard role and leaving the point guard position to Wall.

As for Cousins, while I would rank him as the player with the most star potential and talent in this draft, he is also the furthest from reaching that level. Unlike point guards (or even SGs and SFs) power forwards and centers usually need some development time upon reaching the NBA. Usually these players just relied on being the biggest/strongest player on the court in college, and were able to dominate. They don’t have that advantage in the NBA and that is why it will take years sometimes for them to develop into a starting caliber player (if they develop at all). While there are definitely exceptions to the rule, they are few and far between. What makes things worse for Cousins is there are some serious character/mental toughness issues with him, which is also the same profile as many of the failed big men over the last 10 years. Cousins has immense talent, but would seem to check out of games at times for Kentucky. Also, he didn’t do a great job of controlling his frustration when he faced off against other physical big men. While I personally have loved Cousins this season and think he is a fantastic prospect, the unknown is too great to select him over a point guard like Wall.

John Wall is not without his flaws. As a freshman (like Cousins) he made his share of mistakes, but the athleticism and talent are definitely there. Wall is a very long point guard with a large wing-span that is reminiscent of Arenas or say Derrick Rose. Wall isn’t a completely refined player, and will need to work on his assist/turnover ratio. He will also need to be more aggressive rebounding in the NBA. Wall’s three point shot isn’t NBA perfected yet either, and will be a work in progress. So why is he the sure-fire top pick? Because Wall is so young and talented. He might not be a great passer yet, but he is already a very good one. He also uses his long arms and quickness to get steals and has the potential to be a lock down defender. Wall can create his own shot, but he is also good at creating space when he doesn’t have the ball.

Wall and Arenas have the potential to form one of the best back court duos the NBA has seen in a long time. If they can figure it out, they can pull the Wizards out of the rut they are in and finally make them a championship caliber team.

While much has been made of the possibility that LeBron James would play with the Nets with John Wall (which after the way they played this past season would qualify as a miracle).  But New Jersey isn’t the only that could benefit with tonight’s lottery.   I think plenty of significant draft decisions could come into play with teams jockeying for position with LeBron James.

Late lottery teams like the Rockets or Hornets could use a high lottery pick (or young players they don’t need if say the Rockets win the Wall Sweepstakes) to pair with big contracts to make enough cap room to pursue LeBron. I don’t see the Hornets in the mix, given the uncertainty of Chris Paul’s future, but the Rockets could be an interesting option. They have some good young players, but could use some star power to replace McGrady/Yao.

One team I would love to see him on would be the Grizzlies since that team is built perfectly for LeBron. They have athletic big men in Gasol and Randolph who wouldn’t necessarily clog the lane, and decent 3-point shooting guards in Conley and Mayo. Also Conley has improved his game as a point guard, but isn’t the type that needs to handle the ball in the half court. With a couple more 1st rounders they would have one of the best young and talented benches in the league as well. They could even use Rudy Gay in a sign and trade swap with Cleveland to get the best deal for both players. Alas, I don’t think they will make the moves needed to acquire LeBron (and not sure he would go to a smaller market city).

While there are some in Washington hoping the Wizards could get into the market for LeBron by landing John Wall, they are just fooling themselves. A Wall, Arenas, Blatche starting lineup sounds intriguing, and the city and market are a good fit for LeBron, but there is no way he is going to come to this dysfunctional franchise right now, with or without Wall.

The Clippers could already be an interesting team for LeBron. It gives him a great market, and him and Kobe can battle it out for bragging rights in the Staple Center. The Clippers have an interesting starting rotation, that LeBron could fit perfectly into. And that is without what happens with tonight’s lottery. I think things could get very interesting if the Clippers do win the top pick in the draft. While Baron Davis is a good veteran point guard, they have to take John Wall and have an Eric Gordon, Blake Griffin and Wall nucleus (not to mention Chris Kamen). But they can only do so if they know they can trade Davis and get equal value in return. If they can manage that James would have the perfect storm to create a winning environment for the Clippers (also he’d have a much better supporting cast than the Cavs ever gave him).

Finally that brings us to the Nets. While it would seem like LeBron going to the worst team in the league would be a mistake, it does make some sense. The Nets will be moving to the city pretty soon, so the market is perfect for James. Also they have an emerging star at center in Brook Lopez (though maybe not the best fit for LeBron’s game), and some solid role players. They also have the best odds of winning tonight’s lottery (25%) which could bring Wall to town. The addition of Wall would allow them to move PG Devin Harris for a usable piece or two. A Wall-James-Lopez lineup would make the Nets instant contenders. I don’t see LeBron heading to New Jersey without Wall, but if New Jersey wins the lottery tonight, don’t be surprised if they win it again come July 1st.

By Fanspeak Contributing Writer Geoff Nelowet:

The Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns will play game one of the Western Conference Finals tonight at the Staple Center with the Lakers being a moderate favorite. It is safe to say that the Lakers are more of a known quantity in this series, whereas the Suns have a number of question marks: will they continue to hit their 3s? Will they continue to play consistent defense? Can they maintain their up-tempo style that San Antonio failed to stop? Will the Suns’ bench play as well as they did in the last series? In short, the Suns are an unconventional, and with that comes a number of uncertainties.

The Lakers, on the other hand, have relied on a consistent inside presence. Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum have offered size, defense, low-post scoring and versatility throughout nearly the entire season, which has made Kobe Bryant’s job much easier. And this is what makes the Lakers so good: even with Lamar Odom and Ron Artest being inconsistent, this team still goes three deep in terms of game-changing players. Kobe is surrounded by a team that could likely do very well without him. Danny Ferry could probably learn a few things from the Lakers on how to alleviate the workload of a superstar basketball player.

For these reasons, the Lakers look like the better team – they are more consistent and they have a legitimate size and length advantage. The Suns, though, look like a much better team than they did in the regular season. Their bench has been superb throughout the playoffs with Leandro Barbosa, Louis Amundson, Jared Dudley and Goran Dragic providing a spark off the bench that has changed the dynamic in a number of games thus far. Jason Richardson has also been playing out of his mind – shooting 51% from the floor at 22 points per game. Amare Stoudemire and Grant Hill have also made a huge impact on the defensive side of the ball that was missing in the regular season. This has been a very different Suns team in the playoffs.

With the Suns playing their best basketball in a long time, the Lakers will have to make some adjustments – on offense and defense. This has the makings of series with a strong “zig-zag effect” due to the fact that the Suns are extremely unorthodox and difficult to adapt to. This will be a long series, but the games might not always be competitive with one team blowing out the other one night followed by a reversal of roles in the next. This has been a common trend in the NBA Playoffs, and with these teams being an awkward match-up, it seems likely. At the end of the day, the Lakers will pull out at home in game 7 with superior inside play and defense.

As if playing a Game 7 in Boston wasn’t tough enough, the Flyers got themselves in an early 3 goal deficit. Yet, somehow someway they are the ones heading to the Eastern Conference Finals. Philly had already surpassed a 3-0 series deficit to force a Game 7, but to also comeback from being down 3 goals has to make this one of the greatest comebacks in sports history.

Flyers replacement goalie Michael Leighton allowed three goals in a ten minute span in the first period, but didn’t allow another goal for the rest of the game. The Bruins on the other hand, didn’t allow their first goal until after the 17 minute mark in the first period, but couldn’t hold on to a two goal lead. By the time 9 minutes had gone by in the 2nd period the Flyers had tied the game up, and the air was out of the Bruins sails. A too many men on the ice penalty in third period broke the tie for the Flyers, and will send them to the next round. As Simon Gagne scored a power play goal with 12 minutes remaining.

Everyone knows that penalties can be killers, but there are such a thing as good an bad penalties. Good penalties can be those that stop a great scoring opportunity, and can still be considered good penalties even if the opponent scores on the resulting power play. Bad penalties are those usually taken in the offensive zone because they waste your own scoring chance. But even bad penalties while frustrating are part of the game and the natural course of play. That is why a too many men on the ice penalty falls into a third category ‘stupid penalties’. There is no such thing as a ‘good’ too many men on the ice penalty, and it really isn’t a part of the game as say cross-checking or high sticking. All it involves is the inability to count, and there is no excuse for that. Especially when you are at home in Game 7 of the Playoffs. The Bruins shot themselves in the foot, and while it is possible the Flyers would have won it anyways, they handed it to them on a silver platter.

Now 7th seeded Philadelphia can celebrate with home ice advantage over the 8th seeded Montreal Canadiens (not having home ice hasn’t slowed them down yet), a tremendous comeback. Unfortunately for Philly fans, I think their stage coach is about to turn back into a pumpkin, because they are facing an 8th seeded team that knocked off the President’s Cup winning Washington Capitals and the defending Stanley Cup Champions Pittsburgh Penguins. I don’t think the Flyers magic will scare the Canadiens easily. And it will take more than luck or magic to get enough goals past Jaroslav Halak, who is playing incredible hockey right now. Although I don’t like Philadelphia’s odds in this series, today though they can be proud for what they accomplished.

No one will ever mistake Trey Hillman for Casey Stengel, but at the same time no one will ever mistake his tenure with the Kansas City Royals for the 1950′s Yankee teams Stengel managed. Maybe Hillman deserves to get the ax after compiling a 152-207 record in just over two seasons (including a 12-23 mark this season), but he was never given the requisite talent to work with.

Yes, many people will point to Zach Greinke as one of the best pitchers in the game, but he can’t do it himself. Greinke has just a 2.73 ERA in 52 innings pitched (which is among the league leaders), but has just a 1-4 record to show for it because the rest of the Royals are so bad. As for the Royals other four starters, they have ERAs of 5.18, 5.22, 5.65, 8.24. And to show how fluky wins can be those four pitchers have a combined record of 6-10, or about twice the winning percentage of Greinke. And while on talent alone that pitching staff isn’t normally that bad, this wasn’t exactly a collection of front of the rotation starters behind Greinke. Some of these guys would be starters on other teams for sure, but none would be higher than a 4th starter on just about any other team in the majors.

If possible the bullpen is in worse shape than the rotation. Joakim Soria is one of the better closers in baseball, but having a top notch closer on a bad baseball team is like having the best tight end on a bad football team, nice to watch and might even be worth a few wins, but won’t bring home any rings. Soria is surrounded by a hodgepodge of high priced veterans and AAAA pitchers, neither of whom have been consistently good under Hillman’s tender. Soria shows the biggest mistake bad teams make year in year out in keeping top notch closers while the rest of their team is in shambles. The Royals need to trade Soria to a contender and rebuild with the bounty.

As if having only two pitchers on your entire staff that you can rely on wasn’t bad enough, that is twice as many All Star pitchers that Hillman has (had) than hitters. Good bats in the Royals lineup are well, not few and far between, they just aren’t there. Billy Butler has emerged as a top young talent, and looks like a fixture for the Royals, but beyond that I wouldn’t put anyone at an All Star level. David DeJesus is a solid player and a good defender, but he is the 7th or 8th best hitter on a good team, for the Royals he is their third. Alberto Callaspo has gotten off to a solid start, but I don’t know if his power numbers are sustainable. If he reverts back to his career numbers he is a slightly below average third baseman, which wouldn’t be an issue, except for the fact he is leading the team in RBI’s. Outside of that, and the potential of SS Mike Aviles, the Royals bats are not just average or below average, but they are down right bad. The rest of their hitters either can’t get on base or hit anything more than a single (and some can’t do either). Their complete lack of talent squanders the opportunities that Butler, Callaspo and DeJesus produce, and have led to the Royals 12-23 record.

I think Hillman has gotten a raw deal with his firing, as he was never given the talent to come close to succeeding. Now when the Royals farm system finally looks up and should begin producing talent to supplement Butler/Greinke, Hillman will be watching from afar. Managers do matter, don’t get me wrong, but they can only be responsible for so many of the wins. And unfortunately the Royals have gotten older and worse during Hillman’s time in Kansas City and that led to his downfall.

The Washington Nationals might have come back to beat the Mets yesterday for a 6-4 win, and another series victory, but that wasn’t the best news they had yesterday. Stephen Strasburg, their much heralded pitching prospect, took the mound for Syracuse yesterday. It was his second triple-A start and the results were even better than his first.

Strasburg threw 6 innings yesterday against the Norfolk Tide of no-hit ball. Only two batters ever reached first base during Strasburg’s six innings, one on a walk and one on an error, and neither of those runners came close to crossing the plate. Strasburg completely fooled the Tide hitters all game, registering 7 strikeouts along the way. Strasburg bested his first start with the Syracuse Chiefs, when he went 6 innings and gave up both a walk and a hit.

In just 7 professional starts (not counting the Arizona Fall League), the San Diego State product has been as good as advertised (maybe even better). In five starts with Double-A Harrisburg, Strasburg compiled a 3-1 record with a 1.64 ERA. In 22 innings Strasburg gave up just 4 earned runs and held opponents to a .167 average. He also amassed 27 strikeouts to just 6 walks.

Since moving up to Triple-A where the hitters are more advanced, he has even been more dominate. Giving up just one hit and two walks in 12 innings of work. And in the process of keeping runs off the scoreboard he has amassed 13 strikeouts.

The Nationals couldn’t have hoped for a better performance than this. While all of Strasburg’s stats rank in the unbelievable category, the most impressive stat I’ve seen is that batters leading off an inning against the young phenom are 0-31. As any Nats fan will tell you, that will be a welcomed sight for the major leagues, as far too often Nats pitchers have allowed the lead off batter to get on and start a rally. For a team that has had back-to-back worst records in the majors, this season has been a huge relief for them. With last night’s win, they are 19-15 and solely in 2nd place in the N.L. East. And if the season ended today they would be tied with the Reds for the Wild Card spot. This season started out with bad news and looked like another 90+ loss season was on the horizon. With already one top young pitcher on the shelf for the majority of the season, Jordan Zimmermann, the Nationals learned another of their young guns would miss the first couple months of the season, Ross Detwiler. The injury bug bit further when their top free agent signing Jason Marquis also went on the shelf with an injury (after some horribly bad starts). Yet somehow the Nationals have endured, and have been a competitive and fun team to watch this year.

Now Detwiler nears a return to Washington, but his presence will be overlooked because of the inevitable arrival of Stephen Strasburg. While the Nationals haven’t said exactly when he is coming up, it won’t be any later than June 8th against the Pirates. With the arrival of Strasburg and the return of Detwiler (as well as a few other promotions), the Nationals could be legitimate contenders this year and going into next. And the best part about the arrival of Strasburg for the Nationals, is he will bring with him the national media attention (and a few sellout games) that will raise the profile of the franchise.

In Part I we looked at how the media is portraying Albert Haynesworth not attending voluntary practice, in Part II we look deeper into the actual issue. The Haynesworth issue/situation stems in part from last season, when the Redskins made him the highest paid defensive player in the game, and signed him away from the Tennessee Titans.

Despite signing the most disruptive defensive tackle in the league, who is known as a penetrator and pass rusher, the Redskins under defensive coordinator Greg Blache used him in a read-and-react role. What made it even worse is that Greg Blache refused to acknowledge Haynesworth’s presence in helping DE’s Andre Carter and Brian Orakpo register double-digit sacks. While a new regime made it seem likely that Haynesworth’s issues with the team would be fixed, those hopes were dashed with the reports that new defensive coordinator Jim Haslett would be implementing a 3-4 hybrid system, that would likely play Haynesworth at nose tackle. This development has created a media furor that has swirled for the last few months. Now the Redskins are in danger of alienating their best defensive player, and the worst part about it they are completely wrong in this situation.

First off, let me say I want Haynesworth to be in camp and happy. But as of now, he hasn’t broken his contract or done anything he that isn’t mandatory, so I’m not going to demonize him. I also can’t be too critical because I feel he was misplayed last year, and mistreated by Redskins fans (and the media). So he isn’t a media darling like Chris Cooley, he also isn’t an openly disruptive player like say Terrell Owens. And despite what fans and the media might think, Haynesworth had a very good year last year for the Skins. According to Pro Football Focus (an advanced football statistical site that goes beyond counting numbers), Haynesworth finished 4th among defensive tackles in overall rankings. And that is despite missing 4 games due to injury, all three players ahead of him were healthy for the entire season (though Kelly Gregg plays only on certain downs). While I don’t think Pro Football Focus is the be-all-end-all of statistical analysis, I think they are a fairly good reference point. It is also worth noting that the biggest knock on Haynesworth’s play was the penalties assessed against him, part of which came from the Falcons and Giants games where he stepped in to defend his teammate, DeAngelo Hall (there were other penalties for sure, but those should be exceptions). Haynesworth also led all Redskins defenders (and players) in overall value. While his sacks might not have been high he still scored high as a pass rusher (not to mention taking on blockers for Carter/Orakpo) and was among the team leaders in QB hits and pressures. What’s even more impressive is Haynesworth did that despite being in a system that didn’t allow for him to be a disruptive force in the backfield.

The other thing that Redskins fans and media knock Haynesworth for is taking plays off and being injured. Now I understand that Haynesworth missing 4 games is worriesome, but guess what? It happens with defensive tackles, especially the big 325 lbs.+ guys. Guys like Nagata or Wilfork miss time routinely, sure you’d like to keep it to one or two games instead of three or four. But the point is it’s a fact of the game that you can’t really complain about. Even with missing four games, Haynesworth played the fourth most snaps among Redskins defensive linemen and he was only about 50 snaps (or just over a game away) from being 2nd on that list. So with the exception of defensive end Andre Carter, Haynesworth played more snaps per game than any other Redskins d-lineman. Albert Haynesworth played in over 60% of his defense’s snaps according to Pro Football Focus, and that includes missing 25% of the season. In fact if you look at the list of nose tackles/defensive tackles that played 75% or more, it is only 15 names long (and most of them aren’t very good). Haynesworth played more snaps per game than Vince Wilfork, Casey Hampton, Aubrayo Franklin, Haloti Ngata, Pat Williams, and a whole host of other elite tackles (he even played more snaps than some despite them playing more games). Where is the public outcry in all of these cities about their players ‘taking plays’ off or ‘being winded’. It is a sheer fact of the game, but is made into full blown story because the television camera’s showed Haynesworth anytime he was on the sidelines.

Now I think we can all agree that the media/fan beliefs that Haynesworth wasn’t effective and took an inordinate number of plays off, was not only false, but in fact science fiction. But the question remains what do you do with Haynesworth now in regards to the new 3-4 alignment? A number of tackles that I compared him to are in fact nose tackles on 3-4 teams (Ngata the noteable exception), and they were compared to Haynesworth because they are of similar body type. But that being said, I don’t believe that Haynesworth is a good fit as a NT. Yes he could handle the position and probably do a great job, but that doesn’t play to his strengths. Haynesworth, unlike all the other guys mentioned is a dominate pass rusher and penetrator. While those other tackles are great because they hold the point of attack and stuff the run, Haynesworth gets into the backfield and stops the runner for a loss. And on passing downs he might not always get to the quarterback, but when he is set free he is one of the best at causing pressure and forcing the quarterback to throw the ball away. And while it is possible for a nose tackle to cause that kind of disruption (Shaun Rogers), Haynesworth would be better suited as a 3-4 defensive end who wouldn’t constantly face a double team. The Ravens have used Ngata in this way, despite the fact that he isn’t nearly the pass rusher Haynesworth is. Basically what you are doing is having two nose tackles (who should both be double teamed) on the line. This opens up the other defensive players, and when the don’t double team the end they have the freedom to make plays. This is exactly how Haynesworth should be used.

If he is playing heads up against a LT, I think Haynesworth will have a distinct advantage. Left tackles are used to being on an island with pass rushers, but they are also used to being bigger and stronger than them. Usually the LT has a size advantage of 40 pounds or more, and are at worse of equal size. Haynesworth on the other hand will dwarf plenty of tackles in the league, and is still surprisingly quick for his size. I don’t see this as a match-up many LT’s (or quarterbacks for that matter) will relish. Not to mention the fact that if the LT is working on Haynesworth, that will allow Orakpo a much clearer path to the quarterback.

Well, the dilemma the Redskins are facing with Haynesworth is if you move him to end, who plays the nose tackle position? Which is a crucial position in a 3-4 defense. The Ravens are able to play Ngata at end, because they have Kelly Gregg (and just drafted Terrence Cody). The Redskins on the other hand lack that starting caliber personnel for NT. They did sign Ma’ake Kemoeatu who two years ago did a very good job playing over the center in a 4-3 alignment, but there are two issues with him. He missed last season with an Achilles injury (one that he is still not fully recovered from), and it has been a couple of years since he was in a true 3-4 system. Outside of that, the only other tackle that would even be a possibility would be Golston but he has never played the position, and doesn’t have the normal bulk associated with it (though he gets good leverage). Neither is a great option and I think the Redskins could use a little insurance at the position so they aren’t forced to play Haynesworth there. One option outside the organization is John Henderson.

Henderson was released by the Jags a couple weeks ago after the NFL draft. He has almost zero experience as a nose tackle, but then again that’s the same amount of experience that Haynesworth and Golston have. Henderson makes sense to me for the Redskins, because he isn’t really old, and hasn’t shown a major decline in his numbers yet. While he might have been a little pricey for the Jags, I’m sure the Redskins can sign him for a much cheaper deal. Although he has never played the NT position, he is a better fit that Big Al. Henderson used to be more of a pass rushing DT but has changed his game into more of a power run stuffing guy. He is consistently used to the double-team and unlike a Golston or a non-hundred percent Kemoeatu he demands one. He has the size for the position 6’7″ 335, and is versatile enough to play some as a 3-4 end, and can easily fit in as a 4-3 tackle as well. And with knowing that Haynesworth (and the rest of the d-linemen) will need breathers there is quite a need for a versatile player like Henderson. Sure it isn’t a given that he will succeed as a NT, but since he can help you out in other packages, even if he struggles it will be a good signing. Not to mention that there is even a greater advantage to Henderson than his potential as a nose tackle, and that is his familiarity with Haynesworth. Henderson and Haynesworth played together in college at the University of Tennessee and were both first round picks in the 2002 NFL Draft. By adding Henderson, the Redskins could extend an olive branch to Haynesworth and begin to have a dominate defensive line.

The Haynesworth situation has been a mess from the beginning, but he is needed on the Redskins, as without him their defense won’t be the force it can be. It’s time that Washington starts fixing the situation and assuring Haynesworth he will be allowed to play to his strengths (as he should be) and get after the quarterback. John Henderson could be the answer to all their problems, now they just need to go out and sign him.

This is what it is beginning to feel like in D.C. in regards to the Albert Haynesworth ‘story’, because all we ever hear about is some new angle on Haynesworth not being in camp for the voluntary workouts. In a recent piece in the Washington Post, where All-Pro tight end Chris Cooley summed it up best by saying “And when the season starts, if he shows up and he’s playing, no one’s gonna give a damn what he did [in May].” Cooley went on further to defend Haynesworth by saying, “I’m so tired of hearing about it, because he’s still not doing anything wrong.” While what Cooley said was a 100% accurate the most interesting thing in that blog post was the fact that Redskins Insider blog has tagged Albert Haynesworth 21 times in the past 40 days. Now that doesn’t even include the number of stories, editorials or times that the D.C. Sports Bog has written about Haynesworth, that is just in the Redskins Insider blog. It also doesn’t count when the Insider talks about Haynesworth without tagging him, like for instance the paragraph written about Haynesworth in the middle of a post about DE Adam Carriker. And that is just one news outlet that covers the Redskins.

It just amazes me that this is such a story in D.C. with regards to the Redskins. Yes, I understand it should be reported, but it has been covered to death by the Washington media (which has also made the story go national). Sure you want Haynesworth in camp, especially with a new coaching staff and scheme, but the reality of it is he doesn’t have to be there. He hasn’t broken any clause in his contract or any conduct policy, and yet he is vilified as a bad apple in the Redskins clubhouse (without him even being there). And while I understand that his absence might get under the skin of the coaching staff, they shouldn’t blame Albert for a CBA that defines voluntary and mandatory workouts separately. What makes this Haynesworth saga even more bizarre is the fact that it isn’t anything new, as players around the league are holding out for better contracts, and that Haynesworth is right.

Right now dozens of restricted free agents unhappy with their contract offers are missing voluntary workouts to show their dissatisfaction (and those are players who literally need to play for their next contract). In addition to those players, there are a fair number of players around the league who workout on their own every offseason and that rarely ever participate in any of these voluntary workouts. These are players with no issues with contracts, or playing time, but feel it is best to workout on their own. On top of the restricted free agents and the star players who workout on their own, their are a handful of players under contract who are holding out because they want a new contract. The most notable of which is Titans running back Chris Johnson.

Johnson is an interesting case because of how it parallels with Albert Haynesworth. Johnson is coming off a 2,000 yard season, and wants to get paid like one of the top offensive players in the league. So far he has missed every voluntary workout for the Titans, and the rumblings are that he is willing to miss the mandatory workouts as well. There has even been speculation that Johnson will sit out all of training camp, and possibly even the start of the season to show how unhappy he is. While some of it is speculation, it is out there and legitimate. Yet for some reason this isn’t nearly the national or local story that Haynesworth is (and I don’t mean local D.C. I mean local Nashville). In the past two days in the Tennessean there has been a blog post and a story about Johnson being absent from workouts. In both (and really the story is just a more detailed version of the post) there is no mention of Johnson doing anything against the team, hurting his teammates or coaches, it is just the cold hard facts. The fact is that Johnson is unhappy with his contract and is holding out. There is not even mention of the speculation that Johnson could holdout of the mandatory workouts, compared to all the speculation of Haynesworth wanting to be traded coming out of Washington. What is even crazier is the fact that in the same Tennessean, one of their columists, Joe Biddle ran a piece putting Haynesworth over the coals for not attending workouts. So in a piece that dedicated more ink (pixels) to Haynesworth (the former Titan) than the post and story combined did to Johnson (the current Titan) Haynesworth was taken to task, but Johnson wasn’t even mentioned. How can you not even correlate the Johnson situation to the Haynesworth one?? Even if you agree with Johnson’s motives and not Haynesworth’s, you should at least mention your own player who is holding out.

Some how and some way the Haynesworth situation is getting more press from the paper of record in Nashville, than the Johnson situation (also it is worth noting that two of the Titans restricted free agents are holding out and they barely get a mention). Look both are stories, but the Haynesworth story has been investigated to the fullest, where every player, coach and person ever associated with Hayneworth has been asked to weigh in. When it comes to Chris Johnson, players and coaches are rarely asked what his absence means to the team, and have been given every opportunity to defend him, and not vilify him. Frankly I’m not going to lose much sleep over either situation (other than the fact that Haynesworth is being thrown under the bus), because neither player has done anything wrong. But I think it is high time that the media attention focuses on one of the 1,000 other issues confronting the Redskins this season. Since they likely won’t, I will explore in part II of my take on the Haynesworth saga, why the Redskins are wrong about the situation and how they can fix it while saving face.