Albert Haynesworth Starts Into Fourth Quarter as Redskins Evaluate Roster

Unlike his predecessor Jim Zorn as Washington's coach, Mike Shanahan doesn't wear his heart on his sleeve. Shanahan is one of those keep my feelings to myself men. So Shanahan's actions often speak louder than his words.

Consider how Shanahan used defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth, running back Larry Johnson and receiver Anthony Armstrong in Thursday night's preseason finale at Arizona during which the coach rested his starters.

Haynesworth, who has been at odds with Shanahan since the beginning of the offseason program on Mar. 15 over his role in new coordinator Jim Haslett's 3-4 defense, started for the first time and played 49 of a possible 55 snaps in the 20-10 loss to the Cardinals.

That meant the two-time All-Pro, the guy with the seven-year, $100 million contract was on the field in the fourth quarter with a bunch of no-names who'll be ex-Redskins by tomorrow afternoon when NFL rosters are finalized.

"He's got to get in football shape," Shanahan said, repeating a comment he's been making about Haynesworth since the big man failed the conditioning test on the first day of camp five weeks ago. "We've got to get him some playing time so he can get back in football shape. We've got to get him as good as he can possibly be. There's only one way to get him into football shape and that's to have him practice and play."

Haynesworth, who was upbeat about Haslett but not Shanahan after the preseason opener, blasted them after Week 2 and was happy after Week 3, declined comment Thursday night.

"We wanted to get him as many plays as we could," Haslett said. "We played him at nose and end because guys are going to have to play both positions. I think he held up. He came out early after about four plays, but after that he stayed in and stuck with it."

In contrast, Johnson, who gave Kansas City plenty of headaches with his behavior before being cut last fall, was held out Thursday night, presumably because his fine fourth quarter the previous week against the New York Jets' third-stringers cancelled out his woeful performance against Baltimore's starters on Aug. 21 and guaranteed him a job.

The same was true for Armstrong, who also watched against the Cardinals, after seemingly clinching a rise from practice squad to the roster with seven catches for 101 yards and a touchdown, plus three special teams tackles during the previous three games.

"I didn't want them to play today because they've had enough reps," Shanahan said. "Just because someone didn't dress doesn't necessarily mean that they are on the football team."

If that's the case, than Shanahan is even more cold-blooded than he looks. There's no way the coach cuts Johnson, who had such a good spring and camp, or Armstrong, the star of the offseason, without giving them a last chance to win jobs. Not if he wants any support in the locker room.