Mike Shanahan just conducted his media sessions with reporters, and naturally, one of the subjects that came up was Albert Haynesworth. The $100 million defensive tackle did not play all that much in yesterday's win, though he didn't seem to have too big a problem with that.
When asked about Haynesworth, Shanahan praised his effort, if not necessarily his play:
Albert played hard. He's getting more comfortable with a 3-4 scheme. He's getting better and better, but he did play hard.
Considering that Haynesworth's effort hasn't always been there, this is at least somewhat positive:
Other notes:
- Shanahan said Trent Williams was "quite impressive" going against DeMarcus Ware for most of the game in his NFL debut.
- For those pining for more Devin Thomas, Shanahan said he helped himself last night with his strong performance on special teams.
- You also may have noticed the Redskins pulling an uncharacteristic move and actually rotating out offensive lineman rather than defensive linemen. In particular, Derrick Dockery and Kory Lichtensteiger split time at left guard. Shanahan said that Dockery is still the starter, but he just wanted to look at Lichtensteiger a bit more closely.
- When asked about whether his team stuck to his principles, Shanahn responded "Hopefully, Shanahan football will be scoring a few more points." He said he was particularly concerned about the team's execution in the red zone.
- Finally, in my favorite moment of the press conference, Shanahan scolded a reporter for asking about injuries, saying "You know I wouldn't tell you, so why even ask." His disdain for press conferences continues.