"Patriots fans who have lined the bleachers and hillside behind Gillette Stadium the last week or so haven't seen Albert Haynesworth at training camp.

But defensive line coach Pepper Johnson sees Haynesworth every day, and yesterday raved about the veteran with the checkered past, who was acquired July 29 from Washington.

"He's very unlike what a lot of you read about. I was thinking, 'What am I really going to have to deal with?' But, hey, I'm coaching whatever player that comes in here, it doesn't matter to me,'' Johnson said. "Albert is a great guy. It's kind of hard to see some of the things that you hear that are negative about him coming from that person. You need to know both sides of the story."