Not to revel in any player's injury but....

[Shuttemdown41]

Seems like LaVar just experienced a setback in his return to the Redskins defense.

Here's the link to the thread over at Extremeskins:

http://www.extremeskins.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=98465&perpage=15&display=&pagenumber=1

Skins fans are bummed and I can't blame them. First Smoot and Pierce, now Arrington.

Makes you wonder if it could alter their draft strategy....some folks over there are speculating this could push them towards Merriman.

[Hoov]

Seems like LaVar just experienced a setback in his return to the Redskins defense.

Here's the link to the thread over at Extremeskins:

http://www.extremeskins.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=98465&perpage=15&display=&pagenumber=1

Skins fans are bummed and I can't blame them. First Smoot and Pierce, now Arrington.

Skins will be lucky to win 5 games this year, i'm thinking 3-13

[TheSkaven]

Skins will be lucky to win 5 games this year, i'm thinking 3-13I agree.. talk about a complete disaster. They're going with Ramsey at QB, they lost their best WR, a very good cornerback, and if their best defensive player is out, that's all she wrote, folks. No anti-Redskins bias here, this is just a bad, bad football team.

[LeonDixson]

Didn't it say that he may not be available for the season opener? I didn't read that he was out for the season. I know that missing training camp is a set back, but if he comes back for game 2 or 3 and plays the rest of the season he should be okay.

My worry if I was a Skins' fan would be how long he is going to be able to play on that knee. Two surgeries and counting is not good.

[ravidubey]

I agree.. talk about a complete disaster. They're going with Ramsey at QB, they lost their best WR, a very good cornerback, and if their best defensive player is out, that's all she wrote, folks. No anti-Redskins bias here, this is just a bad, bad football team.

Arrington may be the most overrated player in the game of football if not US professional sports. I certainly can't think of a more overrated defender or offensive player in the NFL. When was the last time he ever did anything? 2001?

[Shuttemdown41]

Didn't it say that he may not be available for the season opener? I didn't read that he was out for the season. I know that missing training camp is a set back, but if he comes back for game 2 or 3 and plays the rest of the season he should be okay.

My worry if I was a Skins' fan would be how long he is going to be able to play on that knee. Two surgeries and counting is not good.

You're right, it never said he would be out the entire season. However, after limited playing time last season I would think it critical that he participated fully in their off-season program, mini-camps and ESPECIALLY training camp heading into this coming year. I just don't believe he can be the same impact player he was for the Skins pre-injury after missing the majority of one year and then all of the offseason preparation heading into the following one. Couple that with the loss of Smoot and Pierce and the chances of them being top 5 again in Defense start to decrease greatly.

[LA=Pancakemaker]

He hardly played last year, and the skins had a pretty good d?
This guys career maybe over.

[Ken]

I'm personally of the oppinion that their defense was better without him.

He is one of the dumbest and over aggressive players in football, those two traits hurt his football team immensely.

The real loss for that defense is Smoot and Pierce. They were two key cogs on that D that made it work.

I believe they will draft a corner top 10, that should help. Barrow should play the middle adequately. Arrington barely played anyway.

I do believe that Washington would have used him exclusively as a rush player this year, just to nullify his stupidity. He does have great talent, but along with that, a ten cent head.

Here is a strange notion though..... I actually think the skins will be better than 6 wins this year. Sure they got rid of the two players I mentioned plus Coles, but they also added a solid center, get Jansen back, and added solid professional wr in Patten. Patten is exactly the type of move they needed in FA. Not the glitzy over paid FAs their used to adding.

I also believe that Gibbs will learn from his mistakes in his second year back, and they also added Musgrave to the offense who is supposed to update their blitz protections. That alone will help their offense immensely.

Depending on how they do in the draft and provided their is no more disention internally, they should be better than 6 wins, no signifigantly better, but better.

Just my oppinion.

[Danny White]

He hardly played last year, and the skins had a pretty good d?
This guys career maybe over.

They also had Pierce making solid contributions last year, though.

With the loss of Pierce, Arrington is a necessity (overrated or not).

[InmanRoshi]

I wonder what kind of operation he had. If he's questionable for the opener five months away, this was no simple cleanup. I wonder if his cartiledge was was deteriorating from the last injury. If so, he probably had microfracture.

[ShiningStar]

Losing Arrington doesnt hurt their D, losing AP was a bigger loss. They played without Arrington and did an excellent job. I dont think they'll ifnd a player to replace AP this offseason, and so far if Arringtons career is over, only he loses.

[InmanRoshi]

He's not a happy camper.


WP: Arrington Shows Concern posted on April-11th-2005 10:01 PM

Edit, screwed up the title, my bad.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...-2005Apr11.html

Arrington Upset About Handling of Knee Injury

By Jason La Canfora
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 12, 2005;

Pro Bowl linebacker LaVar Arrington, on crutches and recovering from another surgery on his right knee last Wednesday, expressed concern with how the Washington Redskins have handled his recovery and said he will take as much time as necessary to allow the injury to heal.

Arrington, 26, offered no timetable for his return to the field, and said he is worried about career-threatening ramifications should he come back too soon.

Arrington, who originally had meniscus removed from his knee by Dr. James Andrews on Sept. 23 and started just two games last season, said he suffered his latest setback pushing himself to recover at the team's urging.

He said he was also troubled that team officials did not reveal the extent of his injuries and made no mention of his most recent surgical procedure. (Coach Joe Gibbs said as recently as 11 days ago that Arrington was progressing smoothly.) "Right now it's like nothing is going in my favor . . . ," Arrington said. "It's like nothing in terms of the support from them, it's like nothing. It's like, just let me disappear and die. To me it kind of [stinks], it [stinks] because it's not like I have a relationship built with [the coaches] anyway, because they're new and then I get hurt and every year it's always someone new [as a head coach]. Does that mean it's right the way it's being handled? I had a teammate that didn't even know that I had surgery on my knee, and that's the first [surgery last fall], too. It's just mixed emotions, man. It makes you wonder, man, what's their agenda?"

Gibbs, who is also the team president, was not immediately made available for comment by team representatives. Arrington, who was selected with the second overall pick in 2000 and has been the star of Washington's defense, has played very little in the scheme of Gregg Williams, assistant head coach -- defense, and missed 11 straight games in one stretch last season. The Redskins (6-10 in 2004) originally stated that Arrington's initial surgery would put him out around two months, but he played sparingly in two games in December and missed the season finale.

"I'm taking as much time as I need, and if that means they're upset and want to get rid of me, then so be it," Arrington said. "But I'm not coming back before my knee is better. I tried it their way, and it got me on crutches again. Now I'm going to try it the way that Dr. Andrews and the rest of the medical staff want me to do, and that's the bottom line. People can be upset about and be uncomfortable with it, but I'm taking as much time as I need. . . . I worked my [butt] off to get back on the field and for what? Three [late-season] games? There wasn't no playoffs on the line. There wasn't no Super Bowls, and I still worked my [butt] off to play in those three games. . . . It never ceases to amaze me the things that go on here, but I'm here and I still love the Redskins. That's the bottom line."

Arrington, named to three straight Pro Bowls before getting hurt last season, said his knee was not improving, prompting him to visit Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., last Wednesday. Arrington underwent surgery the same day for removal of more meniscus and cartilage, he said.

"Nobody really takes the time to express what I went through to try to get on the field last year," Arrington said as he left Redskins Park this afternoon, "and then the repercussions of it, so my emotions are kind of mixed right now. . . . Why is it that nobody is really speaking about how hard and the sacrifices I put forth to try to get back out there? They're so quick to talk about what we do wrong, but they don't put it out there [that he had surgery]. Like I still don't think my whole injury from the first time has ever really been talked about. . . . I'm trying to get back on the field, and I jacked it up because I came back too early, and nobody talks about it. I had to go out and get another surgery to clean it out from doing that, and I'm looking on the [news] wire to see if anybody even talked about it, and nobody talked about it. It's mixed emotions."

Asked if had shared his feelings with Gibbs or the staff, Arrington said:

"I don't really care, to be honest. I just care about getting healthy and trying to be able to play. I don't really care what anybody thinks at this point. . . . Like I said, I've got mixed emotions. . . . It's like for somebody who has been a warrior for the Redskins for as long as he's been here, this is what it comes down to?"

Arrington also said that he believes the Redskins have worked to delay a grievance he filed concerning a $6.5 million bonus payment he claims should have been a part of the eight-year, $68 million deal he signed before the 2004 season. A date set for November was moved back at the Redskins' request, league sources said, and according to league and NFL Players Association officials, no new date has been set.

"You guys use your common sense," Arrington said to a small gathering of reporters. "Why do think they keep pushing it back? . . . Why do you guys think they keep pushing it back for such a non-winnable situation and an asinine thing for me to do, why do you think it keeps getting pushed back? But I could care less about anything else other than my knee right now."

Arrington said he would continue his rehabilitation daily at Redskins Park unless told to do otherwise. Middle linebacker Mike Barrow is also coming off major knee problems -- he did not play a game last season -- with reserve Lemar Marshall, Arrington's replacement, slotted to push for a starting position there. Pro Bowl player Marcus Washington starts at the strong side position, while the Redskins declined to match the free agent offer middle linebacker Antonio Pierce received from the new York Giants, leaving no other experienced linebackers on the current roster.

[HeHateMe]

At best, they will be 8-8.

If they get every imaginable break in the book over the season, theyll be 9-7.

[The30YardSlant]

And the streak goes on.... :skins:

[Shuttemdown41]

And the streak goes on.... :skins:

Let's hope so. At this point the Cowboys have spoiled me, I can't imagine the horror of losing to the Skins now and how their fans would act.

[CanadaBoys]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2035032&num=0

looks like Arrington is blaming everything on the team...