2005 Question: Who benched Lavar Arrington and Why?

how would it be a "LaVar" thread and not have a response by me. Unfortunately, most of what is being said is probably true, and some a little stretched thin of factual and gossip or hear say. I thought the guy could have been an absolute beast. lets not forget when they drafted the guy they dubbed him the next LT, which is why LA came about. He was given this distinction by our (at the time) boy wonder..Danny! Coming into a situation of high expectations, given the keys to the car and told to be LT, i think kind of got into his head. Plus the relationship that he and Danny had, plus the love fest from the fans, all the 56 jerseys, he just thought he could do no wrong. He made some crunching hits, and obviously some mistakes and usually the mistakes stood out more than the hits as the years went on. I personally think we didn't use him to his talents, of being aggressive and letting him chase down the passer and make plays in the back field. We tried to cage him, which to him was worthless.

Regarding the injury, from what i recall on the Jon Thompson show, he tried to come back to early and slipped on the wet turf and basically ended his season and ultimately his time in DC. There was a whole big story of why he left DC. Basically, other guys on the team came to him and said if he didn't restructure his deal then they would be cut and didn't want to leave DC. So he went to the powers that be and said he would rework his contract if these guys had guarantees worked into theirs. They wouldn't do it, so to save them from getting cut (and save him from playing under Joe) he decided to give back the money, leave and allow those other guys to continue their careers in DC.

LaVar loved DC, the fans, and was probably bitter when he left. Once the face of franchise, beloved by many was getting benched and told he couldn't play anymore. He still speaks of the Redskins as "we". I think it hurt him emotionally to leave, given how he was designated the next DC legend before stepping on the field. I loved the dude, think he was a really good player, that could have been a great player but it just didn't work out.

I think I am done. LOL!!

So i propose we re-sign him for vet minimum, and let him get a chance to make amends and end his career on a positive note.

So i propose we re-sign him for vet minimum, and let him get a chance to make amends and end his career on a positive note.


LOL - wondering when the vet minimum would come out!

i think he is done with football whether he wants to admit it or not.

So i propose we re-sign him for vet minimum, and let him get a chance to make amends and end his career on a positive note.

I doubt that's going to happen. I think he's burned his bridges over at Redskin Park.

I doubt that's going to happen. I think he's burned his bridges over at Redskin Park.

Not necessarily. Gibbs is gone, that piece of shit Dale Lindsey isnt here anymore, GW is in NO, etc...

I think If Lavar wanted it, Dan would let it happen. probably not even for vet minimum, but close.

It would be awesome to have him back here. The fans love him still. Could you imagine Arrington, Orakpo, and Haynesworth all on the same team? They would be near unstoppable.

How do we go about this? Anybody here with "connections" so to speak, that could send a feeler out to LaVar? He said as recently as ST's funeral that he loved the Redskins and would be willing to work for them again...

There was a whole big story of why he left DC. Basically, other guys on the team came to him and said if he didn't restructure his deal then they would be cut and didn't want to leave DC. So he went to the powers that be and said he would rework his contract if these guys had guarantees worked into theirs. They wouldn't do it, so to save them from getting cut (and save him from playing under Joe) he decided to give back the money, leave and allow those other guys to continue their careers in DC.

That's the first I have ever heard that other players came to LaVar and asked him to restructure to save their jobs. Is this backed up by any players? It has a very LaVarian sound to it ("Look at me, I am such a martyr for the fans, my teammates"). Is there anyone other than LA that ever said this?

Don't forget that LA's agents, the Poston brothers, had a very bad relationship w/the Danny. I always thought that might've been at the heart of LA's falling out over the $6.5 mil he claimed was shorted - he sided w/his agents after they admitted they hadn't read his contract before signing. I think that meant war w/the Danny.

I almost started a thread w/Lavar's latest blog posts ("Hard Hits") in wash post. He has one about Snyder, where he tries to bury the hatchet. Admirable, but for the most part Lavar's blog reads like a high school newspaper. In his "analysis" of offensive strategy for the GB game this week, he came up w/the brilliant insight that the Skins need to run the ball & convert on 3rd down to win the time of possession!

I mean really Lavar, can't you do some homework and actually give us some insight into GB's 3-4?! Do they leave Woodson alone w/no safety help? Do the linebackers bite on play action like you used to?

That's the first I have ever heard that other players came to LaVar and asked him to restructure to save their jobs. Is this backed up by any players? It has a very LaVarian sound to it ("Look at me, I am such a martyr for the fans, my teammates"). Is there anyone other than LA that ever said this?

likewise, good point Joe & on the previous post as well. I loved Lavar when he was in his prime, but I think like many of us I saw him as a symbol of big games & winning seasons to come, which never happened. Ironically, the only winning season he was a part of was 2005, when things really went south for him.

I wasn't there when the whole Gibbs-Williams-LaVar-thing went down, but having been there covering the Skins on a daily basis for five seasons from the late 90s to the early 00s I spent a lot of time around and with LaVar and I would say this:

LA is a very engaging person and was a superbly dynamic player. But he's also (or at least was) somewhat thin-skinned and not really appreciative of/used to being told he's wrong and needs to do things a certain way. I also got the feeling from talking to other players and coaches, well they basically flat out said it, that Arrington's flashy numbers were often at the expense of the team's success. That Arrington, would for example, make some devastating hit on a tight end over the middle after an 8 yard pass and everyone would hoot and holler, but had he followed his assignment maybe that pass isn't even able to thrown by the QB in the first place.

Some thought LaVar just wasn't really able to grasp the different defenses that were thrown at him. Like Campbell, he had a different coordinator just about every year. Others thought he was too stubborn to change.

Either way, the "perfect storm" of an injury with coaches who weren't going to cater to him anymore is probably what led to his departure.

With Grilliams it's his way or the highway. LaVar just didn't buy into what GW was selling.