Haynesworth is absorbing attention

Consistently heckled on the road and even occasionally at his new home field for the lucrative contract he signed during the offseason, Albert Haynesworth was more than happy to see 500 friendly faces Tuesday morning.

As the Washington Redskins’ defensive tackle strode into the Woodburn Elementary School gymnasium in Annandale as part of the “NFL Take a Player to School” program, the students gasped and screamed for Haynesworth, in awe of his 350-pound frame and thrilled that a player was visiting them.

“It was an awesome experience,” he said. “It’s definitely nice to get a reception like that, and it makes you proud to be a football player. We have a lot of kids wearing Redskins stuff, so they really do know who you are.”

Opposing offenses definitely know who Haynesworth is, be it left defensive tackle or left end.

Perhaps only a Super Bowl title would justify the decision by owner Dan Snyder to give Haynesworth $41 million guaranteed in the opening hours of free agency; the Redskins could have done as the Denver Broncos did and sign multiple players for the same money.

Still, it’s hard to argue that Haynesworth hasn’t made the Redskins’ defense better even in this miserable 2-6 first half of the season.

On the field, Haynesworth draws double teams on about half of his snaps, allowing teammates to make plays.

Off the field, Haynesworth has fit in and, if caught on the right day by the media, gives decent analysis of what’s gone wrong with the Redskins, who open the second half of the season Sunday against Denver at FedEx Field.

“Just coming in, it’s felt good,” he said. “It was never awkward. It never felt like a different place. Guys came up to me and I went up to guys. It wasn’t like I was a new guy. Ask them about my personality; I’m always cracking jokes and laughing.”

Defensive tackle and straight shooter Cornelius Griffin gave a verbal thumbs up for No. 92.

“Great guy, and if he wasn’t, I’d tell you,” Griffin said. “This is a tight-knit group on the D-line. We make fun of him about the money, but he comes back. He’s a clown, in a way.”

Walking off the practice field during training camp, Haynesworth joked to rookie Jeremy Jarmon that “$99 million of the $100 million is in the last year” of his seven-year contract. On Wednesday, talking about the $5,000 fine he received for his role in a sideline melee in a loss to the Atlanta Falcons last week, he said, “We make money here, so I can pay it.”

What’s no joke is Haynesworth’s pregame ritual. His scowl would make the toughest guy run for cover.

“When he has ‘the look’ on, he’s ready to play,” Griffin said.

The Redskins were ready for Haynesworth to make a huge impact on an already-solid defense. Unofficially, he has played 366 of 504 snaps (72.6 percent, second only to Andre Carter among the Redskins’ defensive linemen) and posted 25 tackles, three sacks and three pass breakups. Last year with Tennessee, Haynesworth had 51 tackles and 8.5 sacks.

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