Archuleta Struggles to Find Place With Redskins
By Howard Bryant
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 7, 2006; 4:28 PM
On March 11, 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 at MCI Center, their faces shown on the giant scoreboard drawing a standing ovation.
It was a glittering evening in an off-season 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 brainstorm with Williams until the late hours -- a courtship that 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.
He has since lost his starting safety job to newly acquired Troy Vincent and with it much of his playing time. Yesterday at Redskins Park, Archuleta spoke for the first time in detail about losing his starting job 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.
"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," Archuleta said. "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."
Some of what Archuleta said yesterday was guarded; he was clearly unwilling to engage beyond a certain level of detail. In Sunday's win against Dallas, Archuleta played mostly in third-down, six-defensive back passing situations while Vincent played at safety in the base and five defensive back formations, with Kenny Wright as the nickel back. Archuleta said it was painful to not be on the field as a regular for the first time in his eight-game Redskins career.
"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."
In a sense, Archuleta has become the symbol of a high-priced but underachieving defense. He was the only regular to lose his starting position, though the defense has been leaky in numerous areas, especially the pass rush. No team in football has produced fewer sacks per play than the Redskins.
After Sunday's win, the Redskins' rankings in pass defense dropped again. The Redskins were 26th in total defense entering the game and are now 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 six, including last in passing yards against, interceptions and sacks per pass play.
The Redskins, a top 10 defense the last two years, rank in the top ten in but one column: net punting average.
Numerous Redskins players believe Archuleta is playing with a broken confidence, unused to his circumstances andf or his part, he appeared to intimate that he may be scrutinized more for his deficiencies, yet made no excuses.
"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," he said. "But ultimately, it's my responsibility."
Arculeta was a free-agent signing (...and a terrible free agent signing, at that). The Skins paid too much $$$ for a position that does not dictate such an outlay. Lloyd, however, was not only given a large contract extension, but the Skins also gave a 3rd in '06 and a 4th in '07 to acquire him. To give Lloyd a "he's underuitilized" hall-pass when he's on target for 380 yards and no scores is :X .
WR's are not given $20mm+ contracts to play special teams and block downfield. Randle El and Lloyd were specifically signed to jump-start the Skins lagging passing game from '05. The result?? The Skins are sitting at 3-5 (probably 2-6 if TO didn't drop last week's bomb from Romo) and averaging the same yards/game and on pace for nine less receiving TD's. What's the excuse?? The team has the same QB, RB, TE, and OL PLUS added a top-shelf OC?? The one difference in this year's offense is the tag-team combo of Randel El and Lloyd.
######edretarted
