Pure Steel
Doc's NFL Notebook
By James Santelli

Grinchy Haynesworth

The holidays were not so happy for the highest-paid defensive player in football. Redskins DT Albert Haynesworth was sent off the practice field by head coach Jim Zorn after Haynesworth arrived an hour late for a Christmas Day team meeting. The $100-million lineman reportedly attempted to convince his teammates to also arrive late to protest the early practice, a report Haynesworth denies. He did, however, have some unkind words for defensive coordinator Greg Blache, telling The Washington Post, "you can only do so much within the system that's put around you." Haynesworth was fined for his tardiness, but was not benched for any time by the team.

Road Teams

Disgruntled fans of two different struggling teams have taken their displeasure with their respective owners to the streets. Or more accurately, above the streets. A group of Raiders fans raised money to purchase a billboard near Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum that reads, "Mr. Davis, do the right thing. Please hire a GM," a public plea for team owner Al Davis to resign as long-time general manager. Bears supporters followed soon after, purchasing a similar-reading billboard in Chicago's Arlington Heights calling for the McCaskey family to "hire an entirely new coaching staff." Both groups raised money and collected petitions on their websites for the cause, and also plan on buying newspaper ads to continue their campaigns.

A Different Man

The sudden death of Bengals WR Chris Henry shocked the NFL, and the event was tragic in its timing. Henry, who died at the age of 26, was once a player who constantly appeared in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The talented receiver was suspended several times while at WVU and in Cincinnati, and found himself in trouble with the law far too often. However, Henry began to separate from his off-the-field issues in the 18 months prior to his passing. The Bengals gave him a second chance after waiving him in April 2008, following his most recent arrest. Head coach Marvin Lewis noted he had seen "a continual growth of Chris," and the young man was mere months away from marrying his fiancée. The investigation into his December 16 death in Charlotte is still open.

Numbers Don't Lie

Few Steelers fans would argue with the notion that the team struggled mightily on kickoff coverage this season. However, the statisticians at Football Outsiders have the numbers to suggest that Pittsburgh's coverage unit might be even worse than one would think. The group's advanced metrics calculate that the Steelers kickoff squad was 31.3 points worse than the league average through Week 15, worst in the NFL. Having a special teams unit costs your team an average over two points per game is bad enough. But also consider that the second-worst kick coverage in the league, according to Football Outsiders, was the Lions at "only" 9.3 points lower than league average. You don't have to go far to figure out why Mike Tomlin constantly shuffled his special teams personnel this season.

Perfection, Interrupted

The regular seasons of the New Orleans Saints and the Indianapolis Colts were reminders of the old adage, "The football gods giveth, and the football gods taketh away." Or something like that. The two teams became the first pair of franchises to start the same year 13-0. And while it seemed all too likely that at least one would finish the regular season undefeated, it did not turn out as such. While the Saints simply proved their vulnerability in two home December losses to NFC opponents, the end of the Colts' run was far more controversial. With Indianapolis leading the Jets 15-10 at home in their Week 16 contest, head coach Jim Caldwell pulled several starters, including QB Peyton Manning, out of the game to preserve their health. New York pulled ahead for a 29-15 victory. While Caldwell was subject to much of the vitriol, Manning called it "an organizational decision." The 1972 Miami Dolphins, of course, maintain their perfect season unmatched by any other.