Turns out Patriots may need Haynesworth
DETROIT – Back in 2007, less than a week into the New England Patriots' training camp, reclamation project Randy Moss(notes) reached somewhat awkwardly for a pass, wound up with an ice pack on his left hamstring and was held out of all four preseason games as a "precaution."
Moss then showed up for the season opener against the New York Jets and caught nine passes for 183 yards and a touchdown. He'd catch 22 more TDs that season and New England would win every regular-season game.
Albert Haynesworth(notes) is Bill Belichick's current reclamation project. He's yet to play a preseason snap. He's been in and out of practice with injuries. There isn't much information, certainly not from Belichick, about whether Haynesworth might be near reclaiming his old dominance along the defensive line.
That plot point is about the only connection to Moss – different people, different players, different positions, different circumstances.
Except there is this: New England should hold out hope that this is history repeating itself and Haynesworth will explode from the shadows the way Moss once did. The Pats should do so because they may really, really need him.
The resurrection of Albert Haynesworth may no longer be a luxury for New England. What once looked like a player needing a franchise to salvage his career may turn out to be about a franchise needing a player to keep it pointed in the right direction.
As the Detroit Lions ran right through and passed right over the New England defensive line here Saturday, en route to a thorough 34-10 preseason victory, the presence of Big Albert loomed.
[Related: Lions' Stafford picks apart Patriots]
Belichick took a flyer on Haynesworth in an effort to add a spark to a weak-link New England pass rush and help shore up a defense that needed it.
If anything, the Lions showed the problem is more glaring than first thought.
If Saturday counts for anything, then count up Matthew Stafford's(notes) highlights of sitting back and picking apart the Pats. The Lions quarterback went 12-of-14 for 200 yards and two touchdowns. Another TD was dropped. Later, Stafford's backup, Shaun Hill(notes), went 5-of-9 for another 80 yards and a TD.
Most of this was accomplished against New England's first-string unit, or some conglomeration of it. Other than a Kyle Arrington(notes) sack of Stafford and one other pressure, there weren't many highlights.
"Breakdowns," said defensive tackle Gerard Warren(notes). "We've just to go back and watch the film and fix the breakdowns. That's not what you want on film, [though]."
You can get all the caveats out the way right now. This was the preseason. This was just one game. The Lions were focused and using it as a measuring stick. The Patriots looked like half their attention was back in Massachusetts, where a hurricane was about to hit their homes.
[Photos: See more of the Patriots]
And it's worth recalling that a year ago, the St. Louis Rams defeated a less-than-sharp Pats team in the third preseason game. New England went on to post a 14-2 record.
Still, this is what we have to work with, and no less than Belichick saw nothing he liked.
"We didn't do anything very well," Belichick said. "We didn't throw it, didn't catch it, didn't block, didn't tackle, didn't cover, didn't return. It's a long list. Didn't coach."
All true. It's the defensive line, however, that is awaiting the addition of a one-time All-Pro, which presumably could solve a lot of those problems.
Haynesworth is dealing with a balky knee and is just now getting the kind of treatment he would have in a typical off-season when he wasn't locked out. At least that's the story. He returned to practice last week but the biggest news he's made thus far as a Patriot was getting a plea bargain for a misdemeanor sex-abuse charge back in Washington (he got community service).
"Go Patriots," he said that day.
The Patriots need him to go, pronto. The D-line needs help, immediately.
If he's not on the field for Thursday's preseason finale then presumably he'll make a Moss-like secret return for the opener at Miami.
It's then the rest of the word will find out if he still has the power and speed that once made him a ferocious presence. Or if his incentive-rich contract combines with the workmanlike culture of New England to produce a revived intensity. Or if he and mainstay defensive tackle Vince Wilfork(notes) can make each other better down in the trenches. Wilfork wasn't productive against the Lions.
New England's other veteran offseason acquisition, wide receiver Chad Ochocinco(notes), showed little on Saturday. He was mostly a non-factor and when he did get open he dropped a pass.
The Patriots have enough offensive weapons, however. They could use another big-time receiver, but no one doubts Tom Brady(notes) is going to put up points.
It was a lack of defensive playmakers that hurt the Patriots in a playoff loss to the New York Jets. It was the pass rush that was a glaring need. It was New England's abysmal performance on third down that stuck out all season, even as the wins piled up.
A month ago, Belichick sent a fifth-round pick to Washington and was hailed for potentially landing another scrapheap steal with Haynesworth.
The preseason, however, has offered no answers. Not about Haynesworth on the field. Not about Haynesworth off the field.
Instead, the questions have mounted, one Stafford bomb after the next on Saturday night.
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