(S30) PT 3 - Short-Term Goals

[jzajenius36]

Season 30 has gotten off to a bit of a rocky start for the big fella, Honky Tonk Haywood.  After being named defensive breakout player of the year (and likely should have been a unanimous all pro and defensive tackle of the year) it appears perhaps the accolades may have gotten to HTH’s head.  Despite a big game in week 4 that saw Haywood earn a defensive player of the week nod with 3 tackles, a sack, a safety, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovered, Haywood’s numbers – specifically tackles – are no where near the bar he set for himself last year.  Now those season 29 numbers that included 80 tackles and 11 tackles for a loss are probably going to end up as statistical outliers for Haywood, but his 21 tackles to date has him nine behind the DT leader.  His 1 sack on the season, while timely, is beginning the fan the flames of doubt that pundits have set – asking whether Haywood will ever impact the passing game, if he’s a 3-down player.  Defenders of Haywood point to the Liberty defense getting better and to the opposing teams emphasizing the passing game more to keep the ball away from him.  Whatever the case, Haywood will need to adapt his game, going-forward, if he hopes to be an X-factor in what’s left of season 30.

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