RUMOR: Haynesworth to TB?

[EyePod]

Would Haynesworth look good in pewter and red?

While the Tennessee Titans have said that bringing back Albert Haynesworth is their top offseason priority, there is a chance the two sides will not reach an agreement. One likely destination should this not happen is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, NFL insiders have told Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times Bucs Beat blog. The fundamental basis of the Haynesworth-to-Tampa rumor is threefold: First, the Bucs had issues with stopping the run in 2008, especially late in the season as their playoff hopes crumbled. Second, the team has over $40 million of cap space to play with, and Haynesworth will likely command one of the biggest contracts in history for a defensive tackle. Third, Haynesworth had previously told the Nashville City Paper that "either way I want to stay by my kids and stay by my house in Knoxville." While Knoxville and Tampa aren't exactly neighboring communities, it would certainly be closer to home than some of the other rumored destinations.
The Buccaneers lost longtime defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin after the 2008 season, and he was replaced by Jim Bates. Bates' defensive philosophy centers on utilizing the defensive tackles to clog the middle of the line and relying on speed around the edges and in the linebacking corps. Haynesworth would clearly fit the bill in that line-clogging role, and he and Bates share a common history as graduates of the University of Tennessee.

Now, the distance from Knoxville to TB is 10 hours and 7 minutes.

The distance from Knoxville to KC is 11 hours and 13 minutes....

I don't think 1 hour is that much of a difference. I think we fit the criteria that ESPN used even more than TB. We were worse at stopping the run than TB, and ours wasn't just at the end of the season. We were bad the whole season. We have about the same amount of cap space. And we aren't that far away either. I know it doesn't seem like Pioli goes after huge FA's, but I wouldn't mind getting Haynesworth.

http://insider.espn.go.com/nfl/features/rumors

[SAUTO]

but they have ryan sims already

[ChiefRon]

Haynesworth worries me more than any other FA this offseason.

It's boom or bust. Will he get lazy with all that money? Or will he still be trying to show people than he's a real player, not the cheap-shot player of a few years ago...

Are the past 2 years indicative of his potential, or just what he can do when he's motivated (contract year)?

[Ebolapox]

errr, we already paid 50 million for a DT last year. do we really want to have 100 million tied into the defensive tackle position?

[Fat Elvis]

Do not want.

Think Larry Johnson with a bigger belly.

[sedated]

I, personally, have little interest in Haynesworth or Peppers

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by H5N1

errr, we already paid 50 million for a DT last year. do we really want to have 100 million tied into the defensive tackle position?

If they one we alreay paid 50 million for isn't that great then it shouldn't matter. That being said he seems like a "high risk for that type of dough, so I would say no.

[BigCatDaddy]

Originally Posted by sedated

I, personally, have little interest in Haynesworth or Peppers

I agree. The only big name guy I want is Suggs if we switch to a 3-4.

[DJ's left nut]

KC is as close to TN as TB is.

And even if Haynesworth's effort drops, he's still a mountain of a human being that isn't going to be easy to move. A DE needs to have his motor up or he'll get destroyed. A gigantic beast like AH can just kind of lay there and screw things up.

I'm far less concerned with him than I am Peppers (griping about wanting to be a OLB tells me he's soft) or Suggs (what can he really do outside of Baltimore and Lewis?). If either of those guys 'play rich' they'll be useless. Not so with AH.

[chiefscafan]

sorry i want suggs that should be our number one priority

[DaKCMan AP]

I expect Haynesworth to revert to his non-contract year performance or less once he gets paid.

[blueballs]

Being refered to as AH
is not a ringing endorsement

[DaKCMan AP]

Titans should let Albert Haynesworth leave
By Mike Florio

Last week, soon-to-be free-agent defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth suggested that he won't give the Tennessee Titans a "hometown discount."

The news should prompt a deep sigh of relief in Nashville.

The Titans should be relieved because it means Haynesworth will hit the open market on February 27. Presumably, within 12 hours, he'll sign a contract worth more than $100 million to play for another team.

Then, the newly minted multi-multi-millionaire will be someone else's problem.

In the free-agency era, several defensive tackles have played exceptionally during their contract years, only to lose their fire after getting paid handsomely.

Daryl Gardener, for example, parlayed a one-year deal in D.C. into a huge contract with the Broncos, and he never contributed anything to Denver aside from a string of headaches.

Haynesworth, a Titans first-round draft pick, would have been considered a bust three years ago -- if anyone remembered he was still in the league. If fact, it wasn't until Haynesworth treated Cowboys center Andre Gurode's head like a block of Gouda that the tackle's name returned to the lips of most league observers.

The incident, which earned Haynesworth a five-game suspension (he arguably should have gone to jail), occurred in 2006. Haynesworth finished that season with 30 tackles and two sacks in eleven games.

Through five NFL seasons, he had only 9.5 sacks, an average of 1.9 per year.

In 2007, Haynesworth entered the final year of his rookie contract. Perhaps motivated by a half-decade of mediocrity and the lingering memories of his assault with a deadly weapon (i.e., his cleats), Haynesworth suddenly became a beast. In 13 games, he recorded six sacks, more than three times his prior per-season average.

In 2008, the Titans kept him around with the franchise tag -- and a promise not to use it again if he returned to the Pro Bowl. Haynesworth continued to play at a high level, winning his freedom.

In 14 games last season, Haynesworth recorded 8.5 sacks -- just one fewer than his total from his first five seasons.

The question for the Titans is this: After Haynesworth achieves tremendous financial security, will he revert to being the guy who stomped on an opponent's face? Even worse, will he lose the fire that drove him to channel his anger into back-to-back seasons that have made him the hottest free-agent commodity on defense?

Considering the money Haynesworth wants -- and considering some team will give it to him in order to build buzz, sell jerseys and move tickets for the upcoming season and beyond -- the best outcome for the Titans would be this: After offering to make Haynesworth the highest-paid defensive player in league history (placating the locals), he accepts an even bigger deal from another franchise.

Trying to make that happen would carry some risk for the Titans. Being set for life might cause Haynesworth to go soft if he stays in Tennessee, but if he leaves, he might find fresh motivation from a desire to prove that the Titans should have re-signed him.

Thus, if Haynesworth plays as well elsewhere -- or, even worse, if he takes his game to a new level with a new team -- the Titans will be criticized for not keeping him around.

Still, watching Haynesworth thrive with another franchise (such as the Lions, where former Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is the new head coach) would be better than paying him a king's ransom and seeing him revert to being just "a guy."
Especially if the "guy" in question loses his cool (again) when an opponent is on the ground without a helmet.

Mike Florio writes and edits ProFootballTalk.com and is a regular contributor to Sporting News.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29015199/

[Rooster]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

but they have ryan sims already

[BigChiefFan]

It's not just about sacks. It's about clogging the middle, so everybody else can flow to their spot easier. The Chiefs haven't had a mammoth DT in over a decade and we haven't had a defense that could stop the run either-that isn't just coincidence.