D14 COOLEYGETSNO.400


. . . and then some. Tight end Chris Cooley’s six catches on Sunday (including one reception for 21 yards) gave him a total of 403 for his career.


EZ SU Giants 31, Redskins 7 MAXPROTECTION


The Giants’ battered offensive line did not give up a sack, the fifth straight game that it has kept opposing defenses from getting to quarterback Eli Manning.


NEXTUP


REDSKINS VS. BUCCANEERS Tampa Bay comes to town with quarterback Josh Freeman, left, on the heels of a 28-24 loss to Atlanta.


KLMNO


MONDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2010


JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST Asnapshot of theNFCEast pecking order: Wide receiver SantanaMoss and the Redskins find themselves on their backs and underfoot, while the Giants find themselves tied with Philadelphia for first place. Haynesworth saga flares again as Redskins lose redskins from D1


he did not practice wellThursday and sat out Friday. Several people familiar with the situa-


tion, however, indicated that high-rank- ing Redskins officials are again fed up with what they consider Haynesworth’s lack of effort. Moreover, Haynesworth, the team sources said, was late to prac- tice last week and late to a defensive meeting. “I was sick, so I did show up a minute


late” for a practice, Haynesworth ac- knowledged. “Idon’t think that’s a reason to sit out.” Although the Redskins — who have dropped five straight to the Giants — have only four games remaining, it ap- pears unclear whetherHaynesworth will complete the season on the roster, ac- cording to some in the organization. Throughout the week before the game,


many Redskins players said they faced a must-win situation against the formida- ble Giants, who rank among the NFL leaders in total offense, defense and sacks, and are in a two-team race for the division title. Then in every facet of the game, the Redskins displayed how much they must improve to again be consid- ered in the same class with the Giants and Eagles. It was another embarrassing perfor-


mance for the Redskins, who no longer speak about their playoff chances. “You play as hard as you possibly can


[for the remainder of the season] to show this organization, this coaching staff, whatanassetyouare to this team,” center Casey Rabach said. “Anybody that’s not will definitely be noticed.” Apparently, Haynesworth stood out


for the wrong reasons last week. After Haynesworth arrived late to


practice, Shanahan summoned him to his office before a scheduled defensive meeting, according to two team sources. Themeeting with Shanahan lasted about 15 minutes. By the time Haynesworth reached the second meeting, though, he was about 20 minutes late. Haynesworth no longer plays in the Redskins’ “Okie,” or base3-4,defense, but he has been productive attacking the passer in the nickel package. Haynes- worth has been credited with 2.5 sacks in eight games, and the Giants were playing without three starting offensive linemen — tackles Shawn Andrews and David Diehl and center Shaun O’Hara. Starting wide receivers Hakeem Nicks and Steve Smith also were out. “Itwould’vebeennice to play,”Haynes- worth said. “I talked to one ofmy boys on


Redskins Insider Excerpts from washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider


Thomas makes his mark for Giants When it was all over—when theNew


York Giants had easily defeated the Redskins, 31-7, and effectively ended Washington’s playoffs hopes—Devin Thomas sought out CoachMike Shanahan, the man who fired Thomas not long ago. “I tried to find him,” said Thomas,


who played his first game with the Giants on Sunday since being claimed off waivers nearly two weeks ago, “but he snuck out of there so fast.” And what would Thomas have said? “I just wanted to say, ‘Thank you.


Thank you for everything,’ ” said Thomas, who was released by the Redskins in October. “I feel like our relationship— even though people say I was in the doghouse—I feel like he still coached me up and tried to make me a better player and make me the best that I could be. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do


that there. It took a lot of growing up.” Thomas made his mark on special


teams Sunday. Lining up at gunner, Thomas made a big tackle on Terrence Austin on the game’s second kickoff. At the start of the second quarter, Thomas downed a punt on theWashington 5- yard line. On a punt return in the fourth quarter, he shoved Brandon Banks out of bounds at the Redskins 14-yard line. But the biggest play was the partially blocked punt in the fourth quarter. The punt traveled only eight yards


and the Giants took over on the Redskins 13-yard line, eventually netting a field goal. For Thomas, there were slight pangs


of revenge—or perhaps redemption, he said—attached to Sunday. “Did I makemy point? Yeah, I guess


so,” he said. “To do it against them, make them look at film and say, ‘Man, why did we let him go?’ That’s something I was definitely looking forward to.”


Shanahan had very little to say about


Thomas after the game. “I didn’t get a chance to really see


him,” he said. “I understand he had the blocked punt. That’s some good effort. Besides that, I really didn’t” see him.


Buchanon benched With the Redskins’ secondary


depleted by injury, veteran Phillip Buchanon, who has played well over the past month, started at cornerback. But by the second half, Buchanon had been replaced by third-year cornerback Kevin Barnes. Shanahan was asked why. “Because he wasn’t playing good


enough in the first half,” Shanahan said. “He was benched.” That left Barnes with his most


extensive playing time of his career.He was credited with three tackles and one pass defended. Buchanon was in on four tackles in the first half, and he also broke up one


pass.


Williams injured Redskins rookie offensive tackle


Trent Williams played sparingly because of a shoulder problem suffered in an unexplained accident at his home during the week. Williams, who was limited in


practice much of the week, was replaced in the starting lineup by StephonHeyer. Shanahan initially alternatedHeyer


and Williams with each offensive series, but by the second half Williams was benched andHeyer played the rest of the game. “They could kind of tell I was


favoring it,” Williams said. He said the injury made it


particularly difficult to block. “It’s a shoulder,” Williams said.


“What I do, that’s what I use every play. It restricted me a little bit.” —Rick Maese and Barry Svrluga


JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST


Redskins offensive coordinatorKyle Shanahan has fewanswers during his team’s 31-7 loss to theNewYork Giants.


the team over there. He was like, ‘I was happy that you wasn’t playing.’ ” Haynesworth added that he was


shocked he was inactive because “I thought it was a do-or-die situation and that we needed to do everything to win.” In February 2009, owner Daniel Sny-


der lured Haynesworth to Washington with a contract that included a then-re- cord $41 million in guaranteedmoney.To this point, that move has not worked out well for the team. Haynesworth has not started a game


this season. The nine-year veteran has been credited with only 16 tackles, in- cluding 13 unassisted. Haynesworth has a salary of $3.6 million this season; at the end of this season, he will have been paid $35.6 million for two seasons. But his $5.4 million salary in 2011 is


scored two touchdowns. The Giants raced to a 21-0 halftime lead. “You can’t tackle the way we did in the


first half and expect to win, and with the turnovers we had,” Shanahan said. “When you have six turnovers in a game, you have no chance to win. A lot of mistakes in the first half that keep drives from happening. When you do that, you get embarrassed like we did.” New York’s line, Jacobs and Bradshaw


played so well that it didn’t matter that quarterback EliManning (161 yards pass- ing, one interception) had a subpar out- ing. The Redskins failed to sack Man- ning, who has not been taken down in five games. Washington neededsomething special


JOHN MCDONNELL/THE WASHINGTON POST “Whenyou have six turnovers in a game, you have no chance to win,” a frustrated Redskins CoachMike Shanahan said.


not guaranteed. The Redskins could re- lease Haynesworth now or after the season without owing him more money. “It’s whatever,” Haynesworth said of


being a healthy scratch. “If they choose to sit me, they choose to sit me. This is their organization. I’mjust a piece.” Haynesworth has not been effective


against the run this season, so he might not have helpedmuchagainst the Giants’ impressive rushing attack. New York’s offensive line and backs Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw steamrolled the Redskins. Jacobs gained 103 yards on only eight


rushes (a 12.9-yard average) and scored two touchdowns. His 28-yard score put the Giants ahead,28-0, with6minutes36 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Bradshaw rushed for 97 yards and also


from its quarterback, but Donovan Mc- Nabb didn’t deliver. McNabb, who said he wanted to carry the team down the stretch, finished with a passer rating of 68.0, the 11th time in 12 games this season he has posted a rating below 80.0. McNabb threw two interceptions and


lost one of his three fumbles. The 12-year veteran was sacked four times, but he has faced more pressure in other games. “We lost,” McNabb said. “It doesn’t


matter if I completed every pass. If you lose, there’s something more you could’ve done. “I’mnot particularly pleased about the


wayweplayed collectively as an offense. I don’t look at individuals or things of that nature. We could’ve done a lot more to put points on the board and we didn’t.” With players acknowledging the Red-


skins likely will miss the postseason for the ninth time in 11 years, they’ll refocus on pride again. “We’ve been in this situation before,”


Rabach said. “These last four games are pride games.”


reidj@washpost.com


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