Same Position, but Different Jobs

[SkinzCanes]

Archuleta Addresses Sub-Par Season

By Howard Bryant
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 8, 2006; Page E01

On a Saturday night last March, Adam Archuleta, Antwaan Randle El, Todd Collins and Andre Carter were welcomed in style by the Washington Redskins' coaches and upper management, including owner Daniel Snyder. A multiple-limousine convoy shuttled the group to Morton's for filet mignon and seafood, and to a Washington Wizards game, where they received a standing ovation when their faces were shown on the scoreboard.

It was a glittering evening in an offseason that stoked expectations, a moment of smart-spending muscle that would be remembered when the Redskins met those expectations on the field.
Archuleta was the handpicked choice of assistant head coach-defense Gregg Williams, but those days in March when he would conceptualize with Williams until the late hours -- the courtship culminated in a six-year, $30 million contract with $10 million guaranteed, a record for a safety -- have been the high point for him in Washington.

Yesterday at Redskins Park, Archuleta spoke for the first time in detail about losing his starting job to the newly acquired Troy Vincent, as well as his difficult adjustment to no longer being merely a member of a football team, but a high-profile free agent signing whose every move on the field is scrutinized.

"I wasn't born with a silver spoon, so to come in here with this high-profile situation was, well, I'm not used to that," Archuleta said. "I allowed that as well as other things to be a distraction, and let those things get in the way of truly what is important, and really who I am and what I've done to get to this point in my career and be the kind of player I was. I kind of lost sight of that."

Earlier in the season, defensive lineman Phillip Daniels said he spoke to Carter -- who also signed a $30 million deal that March weekend -- and to a lesser extent Archuleta about the trappings that come with being the big-money signings of an offseason. Daniels said the psychological impact of receiving a big contract by itself could force a talented player to fail.

In a sense, Archuleta has become the symbol of a high-priced but underachieving defense. Even though the defense has been leaky in numerous areas, at linebacker and especially the pass rush -- no team in football has produced fewer sacks per play than the Redskins -- Archuleta was the only regular to lose his job. Even so, Archuleta is third on the team in tackles with 54 (behind Marcus Washington and Sean Taylor, who each have 55) and leads the team in solo tackles with 44.

"Every player has strengths and weaknesses, and in my opinion and in the opinion of a lot of other people, I excel underneath," he said. "A lot of people said, and I've come under a lot criticism over my career that I can't cover, that I can't do this and I can't do that. Do I agree with it? No. Are there a lot of other safeties who are better in the passing game than me? Absolutely.

"Unfortunately, our secondary has given up some big plays this year and I've been a part of that. But ultimately, it's my responsibility."

After Sunday's win, the Redskins again fell in the NFL defensive rankings. Washington was 26th in total yards allowed per game entering the game but now is 30th, ahead of the 4-4 New York Jets and 2-6 Tennessee Titans. Of the 19 defensive categories the league charts, the Redskins are 29th or worse in seven, including last in yards allowed per pass play, interceptions and sacks per pass play.

Archuleta said it was painful to not be on the field as a regular for the first time in eight games with Washington.

"Yeah, that's an understatement, but this is the way things are meant to be," he said. "I've always had detractors and people trying to pull me down my whole life, and this is one more thing. To me, it's one more obstacle, and this will make me a better player, a stronger player. And you better believe I will come back and play the way I'm capable of playing."

Some of what Archuleta said was guarded, as he clearly was unwilling to engage beyond a certain level of detail. He has not been happy in Washington, and some teammates have said he is playing with such broken confidence that even routine plays have become difficult.

"There are a lot of things. There's a lot of parts to the equation. There's some things I really don't need to get into at this point, but at the end of the day it's my responsibility. It's up to me, and when I'm on the field I have to play well. It's my responsibility to myself and to my teammates when I'm out there that I have to make plays. Ultimately, the responsibility belongs to me."

In Sunday's win, Archuleta played mostly in third-down passing situations that featured six defensive backs, while Vincent played at safety in the base formations and those that featured five defensive backs, with Kenny Wright as the nickel back. Williams said after the game that this would be part of Archuleta's new role, to be what Williams called a "hybrid safety-hybrid linebacker." On some of the big plays this season, Archuleta has been beaten in zone coverage, often by a play-action fake, but he said he isn't confused by the complexity of Williams's defense.

"Do I think this scheme is that complex? In reality, it's not. There are fundamentals and basics. There's a lot of disguising, a lot of camouflaging and window dressing," he said. "But when you really strip it down, the fundamentals are the fundamentals. And as a player, I made things a lot more complex than they actually were, and that's my fault.

"It's been an up-and-down year. I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I've had a lot of adversity thrown my way. And for whatever reason, this is the situation that presented itself. This is the way things are meant to be. It's just a matter of me getting back to who I am and what's important to me and playing the game the way I see it, through my eyes and not through someone else's, and it will work out."

[Chris Luva Luva]

It seems like you're just making a ton of excuses for this guy. He can't be on the field only in running situaitons, or if he's blitzing. He's a liability if the coaching staff has to draw up scheme's just to avoid exposing him as a fraud. Seriously though, how long do you think it will take for offensive coordinators to find a way to isolate him in coverage? He's no better than Matt Bowen in my opinion.

I not making excuses for him, I'm just not giving up on him. Most of you feel he makes too much but don't know how much he makes, No one is happy with his performance but most admit he was put into a position that he wasn't brought in to play. Now that the Skins have the personell to use him how they originally planned you all still don't want to see if it works out.

If AA is isolated in coverage it'll be with a TE or a back out of the back field. There will be times when he is the 4th LB and times when he'll be the 5th or 6th DB. It doesn't matter how much time the other team takes to figure him out, Williams already has multiple packages for him so any time a offensive co-ordinator spends scheme on Arch will be time not scheming something else.

He still as to get out there and show us that the move was a good one, but before we rip it apart we should atleast see what it looks like in action.

Ive conceded that I dont understand the CAP. When you corrected me, I dropped the issue. However, why am I giving up on AA? I guess its a bit unfair but it goes deeper than him with me. It goes to the coaches mucking up team chemistry. It goes to him not being a mental player as well as physical. Im just tired of this broken record.

[SkinsJock]

... Most of you feel he makes too much but don't know how much he makes, No one is happy with his performance but most admit he was put into a position that he wasn't brought in to play. Now that the Skins have the personell to use him how they originally planned you all still don't want to see if it works out.

If AA is isolated in coverage it'll be with a TE or a back out of the back field. There will be times when he is the 4th LB and times when he'll be the 5th or 6th DB. It doesn't matter how much time the other team takes to figure him out, Williams already has multiple packages for him so any time a offensive co-ordinator spends scheme on Arch will be time not scheming something else.

He still has to get out there and show us that the move was a good one, but before we rip it apart we should atleast see what it looks like in action.

Really good info!

This post plus what I derived from the article below it give me a little pause. I must admit I also have been disapointed in this guy and was expecting a little more from him. Then again we have not had the quality of play from this whole team that most of us expected.

I will be very interested to see if AA can be the player we expected now that the other facets of the defense seem to be playing better - I think this secondary and our overall defense has been really hurt by Springs absence (and other injuries) and it will be very interesting to see how our defense plays the next couple of weeks on the road against 2 different offenses.

[roybus14]

Well you can't dump him now, so GW has to find out a way to utilize his strengths. If he is a run situation guy then use him because we aren't getting anything at all out of Holdman's side of the ball.

He is something to chew on: Convert to a 3-4 and use AA as the fourth LB'r. But wait, that would only work if we had one or two "Stud" DT's or DE's that were a bonafided pass rushing threat and the third LB'r (Holdman) could actually play.

[Deadskins]

Don't knock it until we have seen it.

How many times will it fool the offense? I just dont see a one dimensional player having much impact. If the offense audibles and forces AA into coverage its going to be deadly. If his only ability is to blitz/stop the run then that limits what Lemar can audible into.

It's not a matter of fooling them thay have to account for him, and he'll still have to cover guys but as a hybrid it would be RBs and TEs as oppose to wideouts.

Witten is a TE, and he toasted AA on that last play.

[The Hogster]

It seems like you're just making a ton of excuses for this guy. He can't be on the field only in running situaitons, or if he's blitzing. He's a liability if the coaching staff has to draw up scheme's just to avoid exposing him as a fraud. Seriously though, how long do you think it will take for offensive coordinators to find a way to isolate him in coverage? He's no better than Matt Bowen in my opinion.

I not making excuses for him, I'm just not giving up on him. Most of you feel he makes too much but don't know how much he makes, No one is happy with his performance but most admit he was put into a position that he wasn't brought in to play. Now that the Skins have the personell to use him how they originally planned you all still don't want to see if it works out.

If AA is isolated in coverage it'll be with a TE or a back out of the back field. There will be times when he is the 4th LB and times when he'll be the 5th or 6th DB. It doesn't matter how much time the other team takes to figure him out, Williams already has multiple packages for him so any time a offensive co-ordinator spends scheme on Arch will be time not scheming something else.

He still as to get out there and show us that the move was a good one, but before we rip it apart we should atleast see what it looks like in action.

Yeah and with the game on the line, in the position that you think he's suited for, the Pukes got him matched up on Jason Witten and he got beat for 28 yards.

You've apologized for his contract, you've apologized for his play, but on both counts there is something that is certain. While he may not see the entire 30 million dollars, he will still get more than he's worth. 10 million is guaranteed, plus his salary money this year. I for one don't think he's worth 10 million dollars for 1 year, or 12 million dollars for 2 years. If he stays beyond that, then your theory about him not getting paid fails, unless he renegotiates.

I also disagree with him not playing his 'rightful position'. No matter how you spin it, he's a liability in coverage, and a guy who is one dimensional is not worth a 10 million dollar bonus...especially when he can't get on the field for more than 1 or 2 downs per series.

For someone who studies the contracts, I am sure that you know he is overpaid. None of us project to the dollar how much he makes, but the guaranteed portion of his deal alone is enough to make him over paid. He's not worth what he'll definitely get. Anything else is just overkill. Heck Troy Vincent isn't worth a 10 million dollar bonus, and he's done a heck of a lot more than Arch has.

[USAFSkinFan]

AA is playing as well or better than he did here in St Louis, so I'm not sure why people are surprised... I guess everybody thought he was going to play for GW and all of a sudden be a better player... it usually doesn't work that way... he is what he is... maybe the 'Skins aren't getting their money's worth, but they are getting the same player he's been for some time... nobody here in St Louis understood the signing either...

[The Hogster]

AA is playing as well or better than he did here in St Louis, so I'm not sure why people are surprised... I guess everybody thought he was going to play for GW and all of a sudden be a better player... it usually doesn't work that way... he is what he is... maybe the 'Skins aren't getting their money's worth, but they are getting the same player he's been for some time... nobody here in St Louis understood the signing either...

I hear ya....I was dumb-founded since I thought that we "couldn't afford" Ryan Clark...I didn't see safety as a position of need...there was the Taylor trial looming, but Arch definitely can't replace him at Free Safety...so it really was mind-boggling. I just don't understand why Danny spends this darned much...especially on a guy with such major physical limitations.

[SkinzCanes]

I hear ya....I was dumb-founded since I thought that we "couldn't afford" Ryan Clark...I didn't see safety as a position of need...there was the Taylor trial looming, but Arch definitely can't replace him at Free Safety...so it really was mind-boggling. I just don't understand why Danny spends this darned much...especially on a guy with such major physical limitations.

There are a lot of things that can be blamed squarely on Snyder. The AA signing, however, isn't one of those things imo. The blame for that decision lies squarly with Gibbs/GW. AA's abilities (or lack of) nothwithstanding, it's dissapointing that they didn't realize how important Clarck was in the locker room and how popular he was with the rest of his teammates.

[JansenFan]

It's not like Clark wasn't offered a contract. I'm pretty sure he had an offer on the table before they signed Arch.

[KazooSkinsFan]

There are a lot of things that can be blamed squarely on Snyder. The AA signing, however, isn't one of those things imo. The blame for that decision lies squarly with Gibbs/GW. AA's abilities (or lack of) nothwithstanding, it's dissapointing that they didn't realize how important Clarck was in the locker room and how popular he was with the rest of his teammates.

According to the article "Archuleta was the handpicked choice of assistant head coach-defense Gregg Williams."

[USAFSkinFan]

I would love to know what went in to the evaluation process... GW had so much success getting results out of guys you wouldn't think were going to be big contributers, it makes me wonder if he didn't get excited about AA's combine cinderella/gym rat reputation and kind of disregard what he'd been doing on the field... I hate to think that's the case, but that's the feeling I got after having watched AA on the field a whole lot and then seeing the 'Skins rush to sign him... mabe that means coaches are human too and prone to get caught up in the moment when free agants become available... kind of like us fans do...

[The Hogster]

It's not like Clark wasn't offered a contract. I'm pretty sure he had an offer on the table before they signed Arch.

Yeah, but the contract was obviously not enough to keep him from the Steelers...its not like we have a reputation for being frugal. He signed a 4 year 7 million dollar deal with the Steelers...the fact that we gave Arch more than that just in signing bonus shows that we didn't give Clark a fair deal...and now we're paying for it.

We could have signed Clark for at least 8 million...and that would have bought us 4 years worth of service. Arch was guaranteed more than that just by signing his name on the dotted line.

[roybus14]

This AA signing was part of GW's "plug-n-play" mentality. He got arrogant into to thinking that he didn't need his "core guys" in his defense and now he is paying for it.

Reading through these posts; let me get this straight: Ryan Clark signed a contract with the Steelers for four years worth only seven million? So he signed a whole contract with them for less than AA's signing bonus??? It is obviously that GW is either overly arrogant about his "plug-n-play" system or he had no clue of how important Clark was to that secondary. I find both notions mind-boggling because you gotta to know what is going on with your defense as their leader.

WOW!!!! I would really love to be a fly on the wall at Redskins Park to really know why they continue to make one bone-headed move after another.....

[The Hogster]

The guy gets an interception once every 2 years. He has 3 in his entire career. Never made a Pro Bowl....he's a good tackler, but damn...10 million bucks??

[SkinzCanes]

Even if AA was playing better this would still be a bad signing imo. Clark was a solid player, team leader, good influence on Taylor on and off the field, wanted to be here, and was cheaper. Unless AA was a drastically better player (which he clearly wasn't) then this "upgrade" made no sense at all. One of the worst moves that I have ever seen the team make.

[1niksder]

Even if AA was playing better this would still be a bad signing imo. Clark was a solid player, team leader, good influence on Taylor on and off the field, wanted to be here, and was cheaper. Unless AA was a drastically better player (which he clearly wasn't) then this "upgrade" made no sense at all. One of the worst moves that I have ever seen the team make.

He wasn't signed to be a upgrade over Clark or anyone else for that matte.... Never mind

[SkinzCanes]

He wasn't signed to be a upgrade over Clark or anyone else for that matte.... Never mind Rolling Eyes

Then why was he signed?? Why would the Skins give a $10 million signing bonus to AA? Why would they disrupt team chemistry and take out a locker room leader and a guy that was a good influence on Sean Taylor (who has had his problems)? Why would GW "hand pick" AA if wasn't looking at him as an upgrade?

This signing represents everything that is wrong with this franchise. Disregard for continuity and team chemistry. Favoring the big-name player over the lesser-known homegrown talent. Giving out lots of money when you don't have to.

[1niksder]

He wasn't signed to be a upgrade over Clark or anyone else for that matte.... Never mind Rolling Eyes

Then why was he signed?? Why would the Skins give a $10 million signing bonus to AA? Why would they disrupt team chemistry and take out a locker room leader and a guy that was a good influence on Sean Taylor (who has had his problems)? Why would GW "hand pick" AA if wasn't looking at him as an upgrade?

This signing represents everything that is wrong with this franchise. Disregard for continuity and team chemistry. Favoring the big-name player over the lesser-known homegrown talent. Giving out lots of money when you don't have to.

If you took the time to read whats been posted you'd have a idea of what I'm talking about. You may enjoy posting the same thing over and over but I don't, therefore I won't

[SkinzCanes]

If you took the time to read whats been posted you'd have a idea of what I'm talking about. You may enjoy posting the same thing over and over but I don't, therefore I won't

I've seen you post about how AA should be given more time and how he wasn't brought in here to be a cover guy. But I have yet to see you post about why he should've been brought in at the expense of losing Ryan Clark. I would love to see that argument.

[The Hogster]

He wasn't signed to be a upgrade over Clark or anyone else for that matte.... Never mind Rolling Eyes

Then why was he signed?? Why would the Skins give a $10 million signing bonus to AA? Why would they disrupt team chemistry and take out a locker room leader and a guy that was a good influence on Sean Taylor (who has had his problems)? Why would GW "hand pick" AA if wasn't looking at him as an upgrade?

This signing represents everything that is wrong with this franchise. Disregard for continuity and team chemistry. Favoring the big-name player over the lesser-known homegrown talent. Giving out lots of money when you don't have to.

If you took the time to read whats been posted you'd have a idea of what I'm talking about. You may enjoy posting the same thing over and over but I don't, therefore I won't

So who was supposed to play Strong Safety? What lineup was it supposed to be in your opinion. If he wasn't signed to replace Clark, then why didn't we resign Clark and sign Arch? IOr another player who can play a LB/Safety hybrid-role much like Thomas Davis or Darnell Bing?

I respect your research of the contracts, but at this point, you're running out of excuses for this guy. How do you know what he was brought here to do?

FS - Taylor
SS - Clark -------> Archuletta
CB - Rogers
CB - Springs
WLB - Holdman
MLB- Marshall
SLB - Washington
RE - Daniels
LE- Wynn--------> Carter
DT - Griff
DT - Salevea

When we go into Nickle: Kenny Wright who replaced Harris, or Pierson Prielou got hurt, insert Vincent...in nickle they would come in for a Safety or LB...sometimes both when we go 3-2-6 (as we did last week). But thats not the case. Vincent has completely replaced Archuletta in our base defense.

The health of Prielou has nothing to do with our base defense....so please how could we have used Archuletta without having him cover anyone?

Teams are way smarter than you're giving them credit for. Sooner or later he will have to cover someone, right?

[xhadow]

He wasn't signed to be a upgrade over Clark or anyone else for that matte.... Never mind Rolling Eyes

Then why was he signed?? Why would the Skins give a $10 million signing bonus to AA? Why would they disrupt team chemistry and take out a locker room leader and a guy that was a good influence on Sean Taylor (who has had his problems)? Why would GW "hand pick" AA if wasn't looking at him as an upgrade?

This signing represents everything that is wrong with this franchise. Disregard for continuity and team chemistry. Favoring the big-name player over the lesser-known homegrown talent. Giving out lots of money when you don't have to.

If you took the time to read whats been posted you'd have a idea of what I'm talking about. You may enjoy posting the same thing over and over but I don't, therefore I won't

So who was supposed to play Strong Safety? What lineup was it supposed to be in your opinion. If he wasn't signed to replace Clark, then why didn't we resign Clark and sign Arch? IOr another player who can play a LB/Safety hybrid-role much like Thomas Davis or Darnell Bing?

I respect your research of the contracts, but at this point, you're running out of excuses for this guy. How do you know what he was brought here to do?

FS - Taylor
SS - Clark -------> Archuletta
CB - Rogers
CB - Springs
WLB - Holdman
MLB- Marshall
SLB - Washington
RE - Daniels
LE- Wynn--------> Carter
DT - Griff
DT - Salevea

When we go into Nickle: Kenny Wright who replaced Harris, or Pierson Prielou got hurt, insert Vincent...in nickle they would come in for a Safety or LB...sometimes both when we go 3-2-6 (as we did last week). But thats not the case. Vincent has completely replaced Archuletta in our base defense.

The health of Prielou has nothing to do with our base defense....so please how could we have used Archuletta without having him cover anyone?

Teams are way smarter than you're giving them credit for. Sooner or later he will have to cover someone, right?

Well Ohalete was better than both of them and we let him just walk away Two years ago.

[1niksder]

If you took the time to read whats been posted you'd have a idea of what I'm talking about. You may enjoy posting the same thing over and over but I don't, therefore I won't

I've seen you post about how AA should be given more time and how he wasn't brought in here to be a cover guy. But I have yet to see you post about why he should've been brought in at the expense of losing Ryan Clark. I would love to see that argument.

One had nothing to do with the other Clark would have still been the starter and AA would have been what he is becoming (a guy that you could bring in and put in the box for run defense or to rush the passer). They'll be times this week or in the near future when you will see Vincent, Taylor and Archuleta in the game at the same time. He was brought in to fill a roll, just because Clark signed with the Steelers doesn't mean he was brought in the replace him.

Common sense tells you that the weren't going to be playing the same rolls. After the signing of AA the Skins were still trying to sign Clark, WHY?
maybe because they knew what they wanted to do with both of them (together). One had three ints last year and the other has 3 for his career. Clark was a Strong Safety here but now plays Free Safety, we already had a FS so maybe that had something to do with it, I don't know. I know a strong safety walked off the streets and in less than a month is the starter, and no one in the front office was surprised.

[The Hogster]

If you took the time to read whats been posted you'd have a idea of what I'm talking about. You may enjoy posting the same thing over and over but I don't, therefore I won't

I've seen you post about how AA should be given more time and how he wasn't brought in here to be a cover guy. But I have yet to see you post about why he should've been brought in at the expense of losing Ryan Clark. I would love to see that argument.

One had nothing to do with the other Clark would have still been the starter and AA would have been what he is becoming (a guy that you could bring in and put in the box for run defense or to rush the passer). They'll be times this week or in the near future when you will see Vincent, Taylor and Archuleta in the game at the same time. He was brought in to fill a roll, just because Clark signed with the Steelers doesn't mean he was brought in the replace him.

Common sense tells you that the weren't going to be playing the same rolls. After the signing of AA the Skins were still trying to sign Clark, WHY?
maybe because they knew what they wanted to do with both of them (together). One had three ints last year and the other has 3 for his career. Clark was a Strong Safety here but now plays Free Safety, we already had a FS so maybe that had something to do with it, I don't know. I know a strong safety walked off the streets and in less than a month is the starter, and no one in the front office was surprised.

Makes no since at all that the organization would pay this guy 10 million up front to be a situational guy. No way, no how...we weren't trying to sign Clark after that....we made him an offer....that wasn't up to what he was being offered by the Steelers...the signing of Arch was just the writing on the wall.

There is no way that you can convince people that Joe Gibbs would plan to sign this guy to be a 1 or two down player.

Much more likely that we just overestimated his ability to thrive in our system.

[1niksder]

Makes no since at all that the organization would pay this guy 10 million up front to be a situational guy. No way, no how...we weren't trying to sign Clark after that....we made him an offer....that wasn't up to what he was being offered by the Steelers...the signing of Arch was just the writing on the wall.

The Arch signing could have been the writing on the wall for Clark because he took the first deal that Pittsburg offered. The day after the Skins signed AA and he didn't give them a chance to match it (AA signed on the 13th, RC signed on the 14th. And again he didn't get $10 million upfront

There is no way that you can convince people that Joe Gibbs would plan to sign this guy to be a 1 or two down player.

Much more likely that we just overestimated his ability to thrive in our system.

He got the same contract we gave a PLANNED #3 WR/ kick returner, "the Danny" writes the checks.... how much more convincing do you need.

I'm not defending AA being signed or is on field activities I'm just able to see what they were thinging when they signed him, and like I said we still haven't seen him in that role so I'll wait to pass judgement.