ESPN: Archuleta: 'I don't like getting lied to'

During the process of negotiation with Archuleta and his agent, the team made clear the role they expected him to play. There was uncertaintity surrounding the status of Sean Taylor at the time, and they had made up their mind if Ryan Clark wanted more than they were willing to pay, they would let him walk because they wanted to up grade the position, and felt Archuleta would be a physical upgrade to Clark.

In reality ,there wasn't much in terms of negotiation, the Redskins made him an offer he couldn't refuse. They were well aware of his limited coverage skills, but they led him to believe he and Marcus Washington were going to be used in blitz packages, and that's what they were expecting from him. It was clear in September that Archuleta was not going to be the starter oposite Taylor. Pierson Prioleau was to be the starter, but when he got hurt on the opening kickoff, and Shawn Springs got injured, they could not play Archuleta the way they had intended to play him. When he speaks about being lied too, this is obviously what he is refering too. They contracted him to blitz, injuries foiled the plan, they had to use him, but in ways they were well aware he was not best suited. When we all witnessed he could not cover, he was left holding the bag with basically no place for him in the defense You really can't blame Archuleta for an experiment gone bad, the team should have taken more into consideration his limitations, and not been so willing to make such a huge financial commitment to a player that limited.All very true, but on top of all that, his play significantly declined from last season.

I think it's crazy to think they brought Archuleta in to be essentially a third down blitz specialist. You don't give a guy a 10 million dollar sb to be a situational guy....

They did for Randle El. He was brought in to be a situational guy that they hoped could be made into a number three receiver, and payed the same.

Since when was it the coaching staffs responsibility to go to Arch and tell him what he is doing wrong? This is something he should take upon himself to approach the coaches and ask. I'm not saying that he has not done this but from his statement it seems like he is waiting for them to come to him.

Since when was it the coaching staffs responsibility to go to Arch and tell him what he is doing wrong? This is something he should take upon himself to approach the coaches and ask. I'm not saying that he has not done this but from his statement it seems like he is waiting for them to come to him.

You can't be serious. By definition, a coach is supposed to instruct thier players, specifically as to correcting and improving their performance.

In relation to business, the standard business model uses a performance appraisal feedback model to ensure that this issue cannot happen. This would include the coaches defining a list of objectives for the player to meet, and for the coaches to define the players role in the organization. If this were done in this case, it would be much easier for a GM to look at a situation and say if the coach or player is at fault and make corrections in the future.

It is easy to look at AA, the money he was payed, and the plays he left on the field, but I sure would like to know what he was really told he would be doing when the Skins were trying to get him to play here instead of Chicago (who must have wanted him for some reason???). Again, can someone tell me why a perennial top 5 (Bears) defense wanted him if everyone knew he was so bad?

I don't have any idea whether Archuleta has been lied to or not because I don't know what has/hasn't been said to him behind closed doors.

What I do know is that it was the Redskins, not Archuleta, who made him the highest paid safety in the history of football. In order for them to have done that, you've got to believe they gathered 'round a table and said "Look, whatever it takes to get this guy we've got to pony it up because we just can't risk letting him get away, he's going to be our difference maker- he's that good." And then- oops- he wasn't.

What's really new here? The Redskins have been paying top dollar for mediocre players on the open market for years now. No shock there. Now, they've got a pissed off player accusing the organization of lying to/misleading him. That's becoming a disturbingly common occurance as well.

It's time to stop shooting the messenger. Archuleta might have had a horrible season, but if he was drawing a journeyman's salary this wouldn't be a front page story and we'd all be shrugging it off as "we need another saftey."


Amen. Adam Archuleta is a worthless putz, but it wasn't like he was banging on the doors of Redskin Park begging to come here. The fools who thought he was worth a $10 million signing bonus are just as at fault.

I think it's crazy to think they brought Archuleta in to be essentially a third down blitz specialist. You don't give a guy a 10 million dollar sb to be a situational guy. Not at safety.

That would appear to be the conventional wisdom. But as we can see, the Redskins don't necessarily follow that.

You can't be serious. By definition, a coach is supposed to instruct thier players, specifically as to correcting and improving their performance.

I'm dead serious! I'm not talking about coaches putting in the gameplan with players and making sure they know the plays. I'm also not talking about coaches putting players through drills that help with fundementals(sp?). I'm talking about players staying after practice and working on their own to get better, i.e: WR catching balls from coaches or O-lineman working with coaches on footwork. These are the things the player needs to take upon himself. Its not the coaches job to go to AA and ask him to say after pratcice to work on technique.

I dont know if he has done these things or not to show the coaching staff he cares about his job. but,If he had done these things, I'm convinced that he would be on the field more.

This AA thing reminds me a lot of other players, as to what happens to them when they fall out of favor with the coaching staff. There have been plenty of players that all say the same things. They dont talk to them, no reason for not playing, not telling them how to improve. There is a recurring theme with this defensive staff. Aside from AA not playing worth a damn, as a professional he deserves reasoning for benching, for not playing at all. In the washington post and times both have articles saying that he found out in a walk through that prealoue (however that is spelled) was starting. the walk through before the game!! that is crazy. this defensive staff, starting with GW has to get off their high horse and come back to reality. it started with smoot, clark, pierce, arrington, and now AA. GW thinks its his system, that players dont matter, well we all see what happens when you dont have the skill players in important positions. Its about players too.

Players come and go all the time. It's the nature of FA. players say things all the time as well. it does not mean it's true, or in this case, that he was kept out of the loop or anything else for that matter. When GW had a band of heartbreakers and lifetakers (sorry CE) last season, nobody on the squad seemed pissed off, and everybody loved GW. So........AA say he bad. Did GW change???? Not likely. IMO, I believe GW is an ego maniac, but he makes it work, or at least can. Q. what is the difference last to this year? A. AA has his feelings hurt....................move on. It was a mistake to bring him here, and his ego is bruised, and looking for someone to blame. my ego would be a bit spanked as well

AA has actually suprised me on this. I expected him to start crying before now. he may have been overpaid but that only leads to one conclusion...who decided to pay this scrub this much money? who evaluated his play and decided he was worth all the money we gave him. Our problems go way deeper than just not having the right players. I dont think we have the right folks doing the talent evaluations. Until that is corrected you will continue to the skins make awful decisions regarding drafting players, signing free agents and evaluating talent. The focus this offseason should be to hire a general manager before anything else.