Ok...
big_poppa said:
Larry I was not being sarcastic I truly like Lavar. With the exception of the play that ended Aikmans career of course. I just feel the Boyz could benefit from his leadership! As to the comment about him having a hard time putting on a boyz uniform, I believe he will indeed do that. The Eagles and Giants are both pretty set at the linebacker position, and deep too. The Boyz on the other hand are struggling. He wants to stay in the NFC East and will not go somewhere where he won't be able to play. Sooooooo, just my two cents.
That makes more sense; you're a Cowboy fan and you think, because the grass is always greener, he's a leader.
Well, first off, he is NOT a leader or he'd still be here. Guys like Mike Singletary, Jack Lambert, Ray Lewis, they're leaders and they made their defensive teammates better, made the whole team better, through
leadership.
LaVarr was THE big hotshot STAR around here for 4 years. The awesome talent pro bowler in an otherwise bleak existence. He was great to the fans, a good interview for the media and talked the talk; "Redskins! Redskins! Yeah!"
I don't question his sincerity in any of those areas and they mean nothing to me anyway. On the field, that's what I count.
He made truly great plays. He made plays like the greenest of rookies. He could end a QB's career with a vicious, clean hit and he'd lose games by being out of position in the fourth quarter and be suckered. I can count how many quarterbacks he's sent to the announcers booth; one.
I can't count how many plays he's blown with his 'instincts'. Two plays against Tampa Bay this past year sum him up to me; Game one, Alstott's 'touchdown'. On the play, LaVarr exploded right at the hole Alstott was heading to, off right tackle, a standard, bread and butter goal line play. So far, so good.
LaVarr leaps into the air, trying to make the big play. Alstott sees him coming and simply puts his head down, which is what a running back is gonna do anyway om the goal line, plough your way in, and burrows his way to the end zone.
Our man 56 goes flying over Alstott, like Superman. Singletary, Taylor, Lambert, Lewis, any of those guys would do what you were taught in pee wee; low man wins. They'd have gotten under Mike's pads and driven through him. As big as Alstott is, they might not have got him down but they would have done what the play called for; stopped him, even if just for an instant, so your teammates can finish him off.
It would have been a spectacular collision and Alstott would have been stopped well short. GAME. The play would have become a Redskin highlight for all time. Instead, Alstott ducks LaVarr, gets a yard closer before contact and, viola. They rule it six. Game. Tampa highlight.
Game 2; LaVarr drops back into coverage and picks off Chris Simms, rumbles down to the two yard line, Clinton Portis, in a spectacular collision, hurts himself and scores. He did not fumble. He got in.
LaVarrs instincts are for the flash over bread and butter football. On the pic, all he thought about was scoring and he actually fumbled when he got tackled. We got away with a down by contact call, no review, but he did lose it.
On both plays, his raw talent got him where he needed to be. On one, he leaped in the air like an idiot, taking himself out of position and out of the play. On the second one, all he should have thought about was holding on to the ball.
In any event, the guy can play but he's more likely to make a critical bad play than a critical good one and he's no leader, except in front of the cameras.
He's a STAR.
