When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Albert Haynesworth after his release from the New England Patriots, they knew exactly what they were getting:
A defensive force who just wants to prove himself. A leader who loves to play football. A role model who gives his all on every snap. Someone who may get outplayed, but will never be outworked.
"To me, any time you're on the football field you've got another guy trying to knock your head off. You're not going to play? That's just not me," he said. "Why I'm so aggressive is that I never want my kids to see their dad lose. I'm not talking about a game, just doing things that can embarrass you. That's why I always play hard because I'm my kids role model and I just want to fight and to show them to always keep fighting no matter what it is."
I bet Haynesworth also believes Shaq's the world's greatest free throw shooter, Tarvaris Jackson is the NFL's best quarterback, and the Penn State football program has done nothing wrong.
Haynesworth did say a few more rational comments, praising the Patriots organization just two days after his release.
"I felt like I could still play," he said while describing his Patriots experience. "I just wanted to prove myself. There, it was a great place. Coach [Bill] Belichick is a great guy and it's a great system, but I just wanted to play more. I wanted to practice more, get more reps and the more plays I got the better I would get. I just wasn't getting a lot of reps, so they made the decision and let me go."
Man, that Albert Haynesworth. He sometimes fails, but his work ethic couldn't possibly be at fault.
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