CaptainAmerica
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...I haven't been in favor of Arrington because I think he's an undisciplined defensive player, but this article sheds some light on his stunning fall from grace in D.C. and makes me think he will return to make an impact somewhere if he finds the right fit.
End Of A Football Affair:
How Arrington Went From Favorite Son To Leaving D.C.
LaVar Arrington had been the face of the Washington Commanders and the most popular sports figure in the nation's capital. The outside linebacker loved the community and organized countless charity events. Yet, at 27, Arrington forfeited $4.4 million for the opportunity to leave.
Arrington's decision had salary-cap ramifications beneficial to both sides. However, the denouement to this two-year soap opera was personal as much as business.
Arrington's days were numbered once he accused owner Daniel Snyder of cheating him in an eight-year, $68 million extension signed in December 2003. Arrington contended that the club purposely removed an agreed-upon $6.5 million in guarantees from a final draft he signed at Commanders Park under deadline pressure. Arrington filed a grievance against the Commanders in March 2004 and a resolution came after several postponed arbitration hearings.
Although Arrington had patched up some aspects of his relationship with the organization, too many wounds remained. The acrimony had been so deep that the club stopped featuring its former marquee attraction in its marketing campaigns. Then the defensive staff that came in 2004 ignored Arrington and bristled at his star power while emphasizing a no-name unit.
"It wasn't just X's and O's last season," one of the Commanders's top players told me this week. "A lot of it was personal. I don't know exactly where it was coming from, but it was bigger than any of us."
Arrington suffered a bone bruise in 2004 -- coach Joe Gibbs' first season back -- and missed 12 games. The linebacker's future became tenuous when the defense ranked third overall without him. After two surgeries, Arrington clashed with the organization over his contract and injuries. Despite regaining his health last season, Arrington played mostly spot duty, culminating a stunning fall from grace.
The recurring explanation was that Arrington was too undisciplined. It's a reputation that existed in 2002, when Marvin Lewis was Washington's defensive coordinator. Still, Arrington had made the Pro Bowl from 2001 to 2003. And he has withstood five head coaches -- and five defensive coordinators -- in six NFL seasons.
As a 6-foot-3, 255-pound outside linebacker with uber-athleticism and passion, Arrington will have several suitors -- perhaps including Washington's rivals, the Cowboys, Eagles and Giants.
Besides his football talent, Arrington is one of the most thoughtful, engaging and bright athletes I've covered in 10 years. He has the ideal personality to be a franchise player. However, I knew that there were irreconcilable differences after a contract settlement was reached last August. Shortly after my Washington Post story was posted on the newspaper's Web site, I received an unsolicited email from a high-ranking Commanders official, who declared that Arrington would never see an "extra penny" from the settlement.
Under the agreement, if Arrington made the Pro Bowl in two of the next four years, he could become a free agent unless Washington paid $3.25 million -- half the disputed money. So at the very least, this official seemed to indicate the team would let Arrington depart, regardless of whether he flourished. At the most, something beyond X's was occurring at Commanders Park. Why would someone close to Snyder not want his star player to succeed? And how brash -- or reckless -- was it to e-mail a reporter, even if there was an understanding that the sender wouldn't be quoted?
So when Arrington went from being Mr. Commander to Mr. Irrelevant last season, the e-mail stuck in my mind.
It was only last March that Snyder threatened to give star receiver Laveranues Coles a flat-screen TV to watch games at home if he nixed a Jets trade. ("'We'll bench you for two years, then we'll cut you,'" Coles said Snyder told him. "'If you come back, we'll torture you.'")
I'm not saying that such sinister instructions came from up top regarding Arrington. But you don't have to be Oliver Stone to realize that the fallout played a part in the humiliating treatment of the once-favored star.
Things changed dramatically after Arrington -- the second overall pick in 2000 -- was no longer Snyder's favorite player. They used to play chess on the team plane during flights to road games. Snyder and Arrington had lengthy phone discussions on wide-ranging subjects, including personnel moves. But last season, a few teammates told me that the club was trying to break Arrington's spirit and shake his confidence.
How else do you explain the linebacker being benched on third-and-long situations, when only reckless abandon -- something he didn't lack -- is required
Gregg Williams is a defensive mastermind who requires players adhere to a regimented system. He deserves to be a head coach again. But Arrington's weaknesses were exaggerated as the Commanders seemed to take pride in showing he was replaceable. Safety Sean Taylor also blew assignments, yet the talented safety was coddled. Of course, Arrington's saga was complicated by personalities: Linebackers coach Dale Lindsey, a curmudgeon with an expletive-filled vocabulary, never meshed with his sensitive star. (When Lindsey was on Norv Turner's staff in 1997, he lambasted a rookie linebacker so much that the player cried.)
Arrington wasn't blameless in the turn of events. After Williams joined Washington in 2004, Arrington and Taylor were the only two players who skipped voluntary workouts, instantly creating tension. And Arrington displayed curious timing by blasting the organization when he felt neglected. (According to one team official, one part of Washington's settlement proposal included a stipulation barring Arrington from publicly criticizing the team.)
I realized how much Arrington loved being a Commander after I visited him at his home in Fairfax, Va., in 2004 for his first public comments on the dispute. Arrington was in the middle of moving to Annapolis, Md., and the last room to be emptied was decorated with Commanders memorabilia.
I thought it was a tad creepy that a few fans would mill outside his front lawn to catch a glimpse of their favorite player, but he didn't mind.
The Commanders actually preferred that their erstwhile star restructure his contract to remain with the club, saving an extra four million or so under the cap. But Arrington would have had to remain in Washington another two years, delaying the inevitably ending of a drama in which personal matters too often mixed with business.
End Of A Football Affair:
How Arrington Went From Favorite Son To Leaving D.C.
LaVar Arrington had been the face of the Washington Commanders and the most popular sports figure in the nation's capital. The outside linebacker loved the community and organized countless charity events. Yet, at 27, Arrington forfeited $4.4 million for the opportunity to leave.
Arrington's decision had salary-cap ramifications beneficial to both sides. However, the denouement to this two-year soap opera was personal as much as business.
Arrington's days were numbered once he accused owner Daniel Snyder of cheating him in an eight-year, $68 million extension signed in December 2003. Arrington contended that the club purposely removed an agreed-upon $6.5 million in guarantees from a final draft he signed at Commanders Park under deadline pressure. Arrington filed a grievance against the Commanders in March 2004 and a resolution came after several postponed arbitration hearings.
Although Arrington had patched up some aspects of his relationship with the organization, too many wounds remained. The acrimony had been so deep that the club stopped featuring its former marquee attraction in its marketing campaigns. Then the defensive staff that came in 2004 ignored Arrington and bristled at his star power while emphasizing a no-name unit.
"It wasn't just X's and O's last season," one of the Commanders's top players told me this week. "A lot of it was personal. I don't know exactly where it was coming from, but it was bigger than any of us."
Arrington suffered a bone bruise in 2004 -- coach Joe Gibbs' first season back -- and missed 12 games. The linebacker's future became tenuous when the defense ranked third overall without him. After two surgeries, Arrington clashed with the organization over his contract and injuries. Despite regaining his health last season, Arrington played mostly spot duty, culminating a stunning fall from grace.
The recurring explanation was that Arrington was too undisciplined. It's a reputation that existed in 2002, when Marvin Lewis was Washington's defensive coordinator. Still, Arrington had made the Pro Bowl from 2001 to 2003. And he has withstood five head coaches -- and five defensive coordinators -- in six NFL seasons.
As a 6-foot-3, 255-pound outside linebacker with uber-athleticism and passion, Arrington will have several suitors -- perhaps including Washington's rivals, the Cowboys, Eagles and Giants.
Besides his football talent, Arrington is one of the most thoughtful, engaging and bright athletes I've covered in 10 years. He has the ideal personality to be a franchise player. However, I knew that there were irreconcilable differences after a contract settlement was reached last August. Shortly after my Washington Post story was posted on the newspaper's Web site, I received an unsolicited email from a high-ranking Commanders official, who declared that Arrington would never see an "extra penny" from the settlement.
Under the agreement, if Arrington made the Pro Bowl in two of the next four years, he could become a free agent unless Washington paid $3.25 million -- half the disputed money. So at the very least, this official seemed to indicate the team would let Arrington depart, regardless of whether he flourished. At the most, something beyond X's was occurring at Commanders Park. Why would someone close to Snyder not want his star player to succeed? And how brash -- or reckless -- was it to e-mail a reporter, even if there was an understanding that the sender wouldn't be quoted?
So when Arrington went from being Mr. Commander to Mr. Irrelevant last season, the e-mail stuck in my mind.
It was only last March that Snyder threatened to give star receiver Laveranues Coles a flat-screen TV to watch games at home if he nixed a Jets trade. ("'We'll bench you for two years, then we'll cut you,'" Coles said Snyder told him. "'If you come back, we'll torture you.'")
I'm not saying that such sinister instructions came from up top regarding Arrington. But you don't have to be Oliver Stone to realize that the fallout played a part in the humiliating treatment of the once-favored star.
Things changed dramatically after Arrington -- the second overall pick in 2000 -- was no longer Snyder's favorite player. They used to play chess on the team plane during flights to road games. Snyder and Arrington had lengthy phone discussions on wide-ranging subjects, including personnel moves. But last season, a few teammates told me that the club was trying to break Arrington's spirit and shake his confidence.
How else do you explain the linebacker being benched on third-and-long situations, when only reckless abandon -- something he didn't lack -- is required
Gregg Williams is a defensive mastermind who requires players adhere to a regimented system. He deserves to be a head coach again. But Arrington's weaknesses were exaggerated as the Commanders seemed to take pride in showing he was replaceable. Safety Sean Taylor also blew assignments, yet the talented safety was coddled. Of course, Arrington's saga was complicated by personalities: Linebackers coach Dale Lindsey, a curmudgeon with an expletive-filled vocabulary, never meshed with his sensitive star. (When Lindsey was on Norv Turner's staff in 1997, he lambasted a rookie linebacker so much that the player cried.)
Arrington wasn't blameless in the turn of events. After Williams joined Washington in 2004, Arrington and Taylor were the only two players who skipped voluntary workouts, instantly creating tension. And Arrington displayed curious timing by blasting the organization when he felt neglected. (According to one team official, one part of Washington's settlement proposal included a stipulation barring Arrington from publicly criticizing the team.)
I realized how much Arrington loved being a Commander after I visited him at his home in Fairfax, Va., in 2004 for his first public comments on the dispute. Arrington was in the middle of moving to Annapolis, Md., and the last room to be emptied was decorated with Commanders memorabilia.
I thought it was a tad creepy that a few fans would mill outside his front lawn to catch a glimpse of their favorite player, but he didn't mind.
The Commanders actually preferred that their erstwhile star restructure his contract to remain with the club, saving an extra four million or so under the cap. But Arrington would have had to remain in Washington another two years, delaying the inevitably ending of a drama in which personal matters too often mixed with business.
