Albert Haynesworth Gritty, Grumpy in First Game With Redskins

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The easy conclusion, if you like jumping to those, is that Albert Haynesworth didn't do much in his Redskins debut. The stat sheet says four tackles -- one for a loss. The Giants put 23 points on the board and won the game. And Haynesworth didn't feel a whole lot like talking about it when it was over.

But with Haynesworth, the easy conclusion misses the point. The numbers to look at are on New York's side, where Brandon Jacobs came up with just 46 yards on 16 carries and the Giants, who led the whole way, were unable to grind out the clock in the second half. The Redskins' defensive line, with their massive free-agent acquisition in the middle, smothered Jacobs and the Giants' running game all night. Not that you'd have known it from the big fella's mood in the locker room.

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"We did some good things, but I don't think we've jelled quite yet as a defense," Haynesworth said. "Until we do, this stuff will probably continue."

He was grouchy about the loss, and about the fact that Eli Manning managed to convert so many third-and-longs, and he didn't much like a question about the time he spent on the sidelines regrouping during certain plays.

"I thought I moved just like I normally do," Haynesworth said. "What they want me to do is to go as hard as I can, and if I get tired, come out, catch my breath and then go back out there."

When he's out there, he matters. He can impact a game simply by taking up space, because he takes up so much of it. The Redskins' media guide lists Haynesworth as 6-foot-6, 350 pounds.

"I think 350 is being conservative," Giants center Shaun O'Hara said.

Haynesworth can impact a game simply by consuming a blocker or two while others do their jobs. He did that plenty in the opener.

"[Giants left guard] Richie Seubert did a great job," O'Hara said. "I told him after the game he deserved a raise."

He can impact a game by creating pressure in passing situations from the interior.

"He pushed the pocket like nobody's business," Skins coach Jim Zorn said. "I thought we did a very good job of pushing the pocket when Albert was in there."

There were two straight plays -- one at the end of the first quarter and one at the start of the second -- on which Jacobs needed one yard for a first down and couldn't get it. Haynesworth was the reason. He took such a knock from Jacobs on the second play that he lay on the ground for a minute when it was over before getting up and walking to the bench. But he'd held the Giants to a field goal that made the score 10-0 instead of 14-0.

Not that he was real impressed.

"I guess we played good defense, and we were able to stop him," Haynesworth said, breaking down the back-to-back stops in a manner that fails to suggest a future as a TV analyst.

In the end, what the Redskins fans will care about is that the team lost. To the Giants. And that Jason Campbell didn't play well. And sure, they may point to Haynesworth's stat line and say he was a disappointment, too. But that's the easy conclusion, and the Giants and Jacobs would tell you otherwise.