As of right now, you can definitely label 350-pound Albert Haynesworth a big-time bust for the New England Patriots.
New England acquired Haynesworth from the Washington Redskins on July 28th for a mere fifth-round pick in 2013, but Haynesworth has been a non-factor throughout the first four weeks of the season as a Patriot.
Haynesworth has only suited up in two games for New England and only made an impact in Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins, when he recorded two tackles and consistently put pressure on quarterback Chad Henne. Since then, Haynesworth has been suffering with a back injury.
The 30-year-old did not travel to Oakland this weekend to participate in New England's 31-19 win over the Oakland Raiders, but did New England really need him?
Haynesworth's "specialty" is putting pressure on the quarterback. Let's be honest—Oakland's starting quarterback, Jason Campbell, isn't anything special.
The key to beating the Raiders was stopping Darren McFadden and forcing Campbell to beat them—Campbell clearly could not get the job done—so the pass-rushing Haynesworth wasn't necessarily needed against the Raiders.
With Haynesworth suffering a back injury over the course of the season, it could be that the Patriots are resting him for this week's critical divisional matchup with the New York Jets.
I am not saying that it was a plan to "re-leash the sleeping giant" on Mark Sanchez and the Jets, but was Haynesworth a necessity in beating the Raiders? Clearly not.
Bill Belichick and the Patriots could be simply giving the often-injured linemen, who has a questionable work ethic, some "much needed" rest in preparation against one of the AFC's premier teams in the Jets.
With that being said—are the Jets all that "premier" this season?
Rex Ryan's crew does have a mediocre 2-2 record and simply have played well the past two weeks, as they've suffered back-to-back losses against the Oakland Raiders and the Baltimore Ravens.
Granted, the Jets are banged up a bit and thin at multiple positions, which could be somewhat of an excuse for the team's recent struggles.
One area of concern for the Jets is their offensive line, as they've been without the team's best blocker, their center Nick Mangold, who suffered a high right ankle injury during the team's Week 2 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Since then, the Jets have been unable to protect quarterback Mark Sanchez. He's been sacked a total of six times and was completely pitiful in Sunday night's loss against the Ravens—Sanchez posted a 30.5 quarterback rating.
With Mangold possibly sidelined for the game this week against New England, this could be the perfect time for Haynesworth to showcase his freakish abilities.
There will be no better time for Haynesworth to have his "coming-out-party" than this Sunday at Gillette Stadium against the New York Jets.
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