Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett joined LaVar Arrington and Chad Dukes on 106.7 the Fan in Washington D.C. to talk about the Washington Redskins and the situation they have with Albert Haynesworth. To listen to the interview, go to Sports Radio Interviews. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett says he wouldn’t play for a team with selfish players.
What does Dockett think about Albert Haynesworth refusing to report to minicamp?
Dockett: I was kind of disappointed to see him not want to be a part of his team after he got that money. I feel that he’s making it harder for guys like myself, guys like Kevin Williams, guys like Aubrayo Franklin in San Francisco, guys like Jay Ratliff in Dallas — these guys are going out, balling every day, showing up to [organized team activities] that are not even mandatory.
We’ve got to come and put down our work and show these teams that we want to get paid. Here you got a guy who is one of the highest paid defensive tackles in the league and he’s not even showing up. You making it harder for us to get paid. Teams are looking like, "Why should we pay this guy $50-60 million when this team just paid this guy $100 million and he’s acting the way he’s acting?" I just feel salty by it.
Why does he think Haynesworth is sitting out?
Dockett: Like I told you earlier, I feel like, in this situation, if you got something against your coaches, the community, the ownership, and anything else as far as that goes, and you don’t want to be a part of the team, and you want to be traded, okay, cool. I can understand that, for whatever it’s worth. But to not want to be a part of the team because you can’t play the defense that you want to play, and they pay you all this money?
I’m a football player. Let’s let that be told. You can put me in any scheme. I’m going to find me a way to make me a play because that’s what I do. You can put me in a 4-8, 3-4, 5-6, 2-11 — whatever you put me in, I’m going to make a play. That’s just the way I am and I’m not going to complain about it…
It’s not about you. It’s about trying to win championships. But that team isn’t used to winning, anyway, because they have a lot of guys that want to do their own thing anyway. For the highest paid player on the team to have that kind of attitude, that’s cancer to a team.
Would Dockett ever play for his hometown team, the Redskins?
Dockett: There’s a lot of things I don’t like. There’s a lot of things that I can’t accept as far as being a leader. I’ve never seen an organization that will go out and lose a game on Sunday, and throw a party on Sunday night after a loss, and go out and party all week. I couldn’t adapt to that. That’s one of the reasons I couldn’t be a part of an organization like that…
If we lose, we come back and return after a loss, and we don’t even want to go to the gas station. We don’t want to show our faces nowhere. Winning means that much to us.
I think a lot of guys on that team, winning doesn’t mean anything. I think partying, getting paid, it’s a big party…
As far as certain things changing like that, I could see me playing. It would have to be a lot of things changing because I am a winner. I don’t feel the need to play football and not want to win on Sundays.
Is Haynesworth a better player than Dockett?
Dockett: I think he’s a dominant player when he wants to be. When he’s got his mind right, he can go out there and play for how many plays he can play in a row — for whatever that’s worth.
To sit there and say that he’s better than me, my numbers don’t lie. My numbers have been better than any defensive tackle playing in this game. And I’ve played with guys that are not even known in the NFL. I’ve never had two or three dominant defensive linemen playing next to me, or linebackers, or anything of that matter.
What does Dockett think of Clinton Portis?
Dockett: I could never play with him…
I’ve never played, since I’ve been in the NFL, with a guy that’s selfish. I’ve never played with a guy that it’s all about them. I’ve never played with a guy that doesn’t practice. We don’t do that in Arizona.
What would he do if a player told him, "Shut up. I make more money than you"?
Dockett: I say, "You’re stealing." Any real, true football player, the money matters, but it don’t. When you are on that field, you want to be great.
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Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett joined LaVar Arrington and Chad Dukes on 106.7 the Fan in Washington D.C. to talk about the Washington Redskins and the situation they have with Albert Haynesworth. To listen to the interview, go to Sports Radio Interviews. Responses have been edited for clarity and brevity.
Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Darnell Dockett says he wouldn’t play for a team with selfish players.
What does Dockett think about Albert Haynesworth refusing to report to minicamp?
Dockett: I was kind of disappointed to see him not want to be a part of his team after he got that money. I feel that he’s making it harder for guys like myself, guys like Kevin Williams, guys like Aubrayo Franklin in San Francisco, guys like Jay Ratliff in Dallas — these guys are going out, balling every day, showing up to [organized team activities] that are not even mandatory.
We’ve got to come and put down our work and show these teams that we want to get paid. Here you got a guy who is one of the highest paid defensive tackles in the league and he’s not even showing up. You making it harder for us to get paid. Teams are looking like, "Why should we pay this guy $50-60 million when this team just paid this guy $100 million and he’s acting the way he’s acting?" I just feel salty by it.
Why does he think Haynesworth is sitting out?
Dockett: Like I told you earlier, I feel like, in this situation, if you got something against your coaches, the community, the ownership, and anything else as far as that goes, and you don’t want to be a part of the team, and you want to be traded, okay, cool. I can understand that, for whatever it’s worth. But to not want to be a part of the team because you can’t play the defense that you want to play, and they pay you all this money?
I’m a football player. Let’s let that be told. You can put me in any scheme. I’m going to find me a way to make me a play because that’s what I do. You can put me in a 4-8, 3-4, 5-6, 2-11 — whatever you put me in, I’m going to make a play. That’s just the way I am and I’m not going to complain about it…
It’s not about you. It’s about trying to win championships. But that team isn’t used to winning, anyway, because they have a lot of guys that want to do their own thing anyway. For the highest paid player on the team to have that kind of attitude, that’s cancer to a team.
Would Dockett ever play for his hometown team, the Redskins?
Dockett: There’s a lot of things I don’t like. There’s a lot of things that I can’t accept as far as being a leader. I’ve never seen an organization that will go out and lose a game on Sunday, and throw a party on Sunday night after a loss, and go out and party all week. I couldn’t adapt to that. That’s one of the reasons I couldn’t be a part of an organization like that…
If we lose, we come back and return after a loss, and we don’t even want to go to the gas station. We don’t want to show our faces nowhere. Winning means that much to us.
I think a lot of guys on that team, winning doesn’t mean anything. I think partying, getting paid, it’s a big party…
As far as certain things changing like that, I could see me playing. It would have to be a lot of things changing because I am a winner. I don’t feel the need to play football and not want to win on Sundays.
Is Haynesworth a better player than Dockett?
Dockett: I think he’s a dominant player when he wants to be. When he’s got his mind right, he can go out there and play for how many plays he can play in a row — for whatever that’s worth.
To sit there and say that he’s better than me, my numbers don’t lie. My numbers have been better than any defensive tackle playing in this game. And I’ve played with guys that are not even known in the NFL. I’ve never had two or three dominant defensive linemen playing next to me, or linebackers, or anything of that matter.
What does Dockett think of Clinton Portis?
Dockett: I could never play with him…
I’ve never played, since I’ve been in the NFL, with a guy that’s selfish. I’ve never played with a guy that it’s all about them. I’ve never played with a guy that doesn’t practice. We don’t do that in Arizona.
What would he do if a player told him, "Shut up. I make more money than you"?
Dockett: I say, "You’re stealing." Any real, true football player, the money matters, but it don’t. When you are on that field, you want to be great.
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