It’s not hard to guess what Albert Haynesworth probably thought about playing 49 of the 55 defensive snaps in Thursday’s 20-10 preseason finale loss to Arizozona. And maybe by telling reporters, “No comment” afterward as Jason Reid of the Washington Post tweted, that’s all anyone needs to know.
It’s highly unusual for someone of Haynesworth’s standing to play two series in a preseason finale let alone the whole game. But Haynesworth did just that, playing both right end and nose tackle. At times his effort mirrored his predicament and he’d show little energy on a play. However, he also was still hustling to the ball and made a couple plays deep in the fourth quarter. But that still suggests an inconsistent effort.
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Coach Mike Shanahan had an easy explanation for why he played Haynesworth so much.
“We’ve got to get Albert as good as he can possibly be and get in football shape,” he said afterward. “There’s only one way to do it and that’s to practice and play.”
But this also suggests the drama has not ended in the Shanahan-Haynesworth saga. Even if Haynesworth knew about the plan, that doesn’t mean he was happy about it (not that the coach or anyone else for that matter probably cares). Jason LaCanfora tweeted that he’d heard talk that Haynesworth might not play much in the opener. If that’s the case, the dama will never die down. Each guy is constantly trying to gain the upper hand.
