Ochocinco and Haynesworth: Can New England’s gambles pay off?

As the NFL’s brief free agency period unfolded, the New England Patriots caused the most heads to scratch when they traded for Chad Ochocinco, wide receiver of the Cincinnati Bengals and Albert Haynesworth, defensive tackle of the Washington Redskins.

Both have been attractors of good and bad attention with their statements to the press, and it seemed like a mismatch for them to go to a team known for having its coaches and players give minimal quotes to the media. Both are already making waves, too, with Ochocinco planning to move in with a fan and Haynesworth missing practices (reportedly thanks to injury).

It only took two late draft picks to get Ochocinco and one to get Haynesworth, so the Patriots put themselves in a low-risk, high-reward situation when acquiring the players. With a history of taking volatile players like Randy Moss and Corey Dillon and letting them find productivity and success again, New England now has two more projects they could easily dump if any problems arise.

Followers of the previous teams for Ochocinco and Haynesworth, though, have many thoughts on the fond (or not-so-fond) memories for their newly-departed players.

When Josh Kirkendall of Cincy Jungle first realized that Ochocinco had left the Bengals, he had mixed emotions. To him, it was pretty much assured that Ochocinco’s time in Cincinnati was over. There was no way they could keep him without hurting the development of younger wide receivers like Jerome Simpson and A.J. Green. Kirkendall was sad to see one of the all-time Cincinnati receivers go “unceremoniously.”

Still, Ochocinco was one of the most recognizable faces on the Bengals by far. With his departure and quarterback Carson Palmer retiring, there is no franchise player right now. Kirkendall thinks that one will emerge soon, but for now, fans can enjoy the younger players on the team.

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“Their foundation players are extremely young, but there are players that fans are connecting to,” Kirkendall said. “Much like Chad, Rey Maualuga – the team’s new defensive face – and wide receiver Jerome Simpson often interact with fans on Twitter. However, most of the team’s best players are extremely young and largely unproven in the NFL. In a sense, Bengals fans are connecting with the team as a whole right now. We’ll see how that develops.”

Simpson, a wide receiver drafted in 2008, is the most probable replacement to fill the hole created in Ochocinco’s departure. Due to the Bengals signing veterans like Laveranues Coles and Terrell Owens in the past few seasons, Simpson hasn’t had a lot of time to develop as a receiver. Kirkendall hopes he’ll get his shot now.

Still, Ochocinco might have been a distraction with the Bengals at times, but he played incredibly well at the peak of his game. Despite his attention-getting ways, he worked incredibly hard and was “fun, often hilarious, and a genuinely good person,” Kirkendall said. He believes Ochocinco can find success in New England.

“He’s a very hard worker and he’ll run good routes for Tom Brady, who should find him easy enough,” Kirkendall said. “Chad isn’t afraid to go over the middle and take a hit, and he has excellent body control. He’s not the receiver he once was, but he’ll be extremely effective either receiving passes or taking pressure off other receivers by taking on double-team coverages.”

As for Albert Haynesworth, many of the Redskins’ media and fans certainly weren’t sad to see him leave. Sarah Schorno Kogod of NBC Washington‘s Capital Games thinks that besides his lawyers and concession stands, Haynesworth had no positive effect on anyone during his stay in Washington. Haynesworth’s “distraction to the team as a player and his numerous acts of douchebaggery as a community member” were parts of the laundry list of problems for the defensive tackle.

How will the Redskins defense fare without Haynesworth now? Schorno Kogod thinks they’ll benefit from his departure, but he wasn’t the only thing wrong; the team’s defense was ranked 31st in the league last season in total yards given up

“The defense is looking much better, but it wasn’t just a matter of getting rid of Haynesworth,” Schorno Kogod said. “The team has basically overhauled the line to run Jim Haslett’s defense. I mean, we might be seeing as many as seven new starters on the defensive side of the ball this season, including all three on the line.”

Schorno Kogod said she doesn’t Haynesworth will do well in New England, and that’s not just based on personal dislike for him. Besides the fact that New England uses a 3-4 defense, the same one Haynesworth used as an excuse not to play hard in Washington, Kogod thinks it’s only a matter of time until something happens to show his true colors.

“Granted, [Haynesworth will] be doing different things in their system, but I don’t think his problems are scheme-related,” Schorno Kogod said. “He just doesn’t want to work. At all. He shows up out of shape, has a huge problem with authority and doesn’t know how to handle his own attitude. Sure, things will be great at first because he has something to prove and he’s on a one-year contract. But as soon as something happens to make him unhappy, you’re going to see the same Albert Haynesworth in New England that you saw in Washington. And then we will laugh.”

Jamie Pacheco of Patriots’ blog Musket Fire was astonished when he first heard of the Haynesworth and Ochocinco trades, but also cautiously optimistic. Both players have low salaries and can be released easily, so that’s not a problem. The more dangerous aspect is what Haynesworth and Ochocinco could do to a young locker room.

“What is the price of losing a locker room? You probably can’t put a dollar figure on that,” Pacheco said. “I’m more worried about Haynesworth than Ochocinco in those regards. I think Ocho is happy enough being in New England that he won’t allow himself to become a distraction.”

To Pacheco, Ochocinco “represents less risk but also less reward” than Haynesworth. The defensive tackle with a troubled past can have a bigger effect than the talkative receiver, if he wants to.

“Ochocinco’s ceiling is a little lower than Haynesworth’s, and the Patriots would have been fine, in my opinion, with their receiving corps from last season,” Pacheco said. “The Pats lit up scoreboards with their receivers minus Ochocinco. However, their pass rush was anemic all year and Haynesworth, properly motivated, can have a huge impact there. If Haynesworth wants to play, he will be better at his position than Ochocinco.”

So far, Pacheco thinks both players have had no behavioral problems and seem willing to follow the idea of contributing to a cause greater than any one player. It’s still early, but if nothing changes, Ochocinco and Haynesworth could both thrive with hard work and significant contributions.

“We’ll see what happens if/when the team hits a rough patch in the season and their mettle is tested,” Pacheco said. “For now, so far, so good.”

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