He’s been AWOL through most of camp, and the peanut gallery has been getting restless, but Albert Haynesworth got some good reviews from Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald for his play in the final preseason game for the Pats.

But after a training camp riddled with missed practices — he didn’t participate for 19 straight days at one point, apparent maintenance for a bad knee — and a court appearance thrown in for good measure, you had to wonder if he ever would make it on the field.

Last night’s glimpse of No. 92 certainly was promising. The very first play, Haynesworth burst out of his stance and made a strong interior rush, thrusting guard Chris White back into quarterback David Carr. Haynesworth slapped White a few times for good measure, as if to let him know he would be coming back to torture him some more.

“Hell, I wanted to get a sack,” Haynesworth said of that first play, on which Patrick Chung then recovered a fumble. “David Carr always gives me a sack. I always like David Carr. That’s what I was looking at . . . a sack.”

From there on out, Haynesworth pretty much played every other defensive series in the first half. His next series in, he showed even more of what he can bring to the table, making two tackles. Both times, the crowd let out huge cheers when his name was called.

Haynesworth’s second tackle showed his incredible athleticism. He tore by his blocker, quickly cut across the line and nabbed Andre Brown from behind. Granted, the Pats’ starters played against the Giants’ second unit, but just having Haynesworth engaged, forcing his will, being mean and menacing, was an encouraging first sign.

Haynesworth continues to talk about how happy he is in New England. He also discusses the d-line rotation and how he’s expected to go full speed on all plays and then signal when he needs a breather. Bill Belichick and the Pats seem to have figured out how to manage spoiled players like Haynesworth. Let’s see if it carries over to the regular season.

Mad genius Bill Belichick is getting props for his off-season moves, and the odds-makers also like the free agent coups of the Eagles. Of course, they also respect Aaron Rodgers and the Pack, even though they’ve been quiet.

Here’s how they are ranked when you look at the NFL futures on the odds to win the Super Bowl:

New England Patriots: 6.5/1 odds

Green Bay Packers: 7/1 odds

Philadelphia Eagles: 7.5/1 odds

The Jets are at 12/1 and the Steelers are at 14/1.

Check out the rest of the odds and get ready for a fun season.

Albert Haynesworth is saying all the right things in New England:

To this point, Belichick has liked what he’s seen from Haynesworth.

“Albert has worked hard. I think that it’s coming (along),” Belichick said. “We’ve got a long way to go, so just take it day by day, but I think he’s doing fine.”

Numerous times in the team’s last two practices, Haynesworth has broken through the line to disrupt a play. He explained that he’s still getting his legs under him, but that the role reminds him of what he played in Tennessee, which would signal a Patriots shift to a 4-3 alignment, with Haynesworth in a disruptive role lining up shaded on the center or guard.

Haynesworth said he first got word of the trade to New England in a text message at 6:30 a.m., and was excited for the chance to play for Belichick.

“I always liked Coach Belichick, just the way he did things, the way the team performed, the way he handled the team and everything,” he said. “Now being on the inside, he’s very detail oriented and he demands perfection every time. I’ve been on some really good teams, with a lot of great players, but I’ve never been in a situation where it’s like perfection every time, not for a person but for the team.”

Haynesworth passed the Patriots’ conditioning test Sunday and said he feels like he’s in good shape, although there is still some rust to shake off.

In Washington, he expressed reservations about playing nose tackle in a 3-4 alignment. Asked if he’s willing to play in a 3-4 in New England, he responded, “I’m willing to attack the quarterback and kill the running back, knock everything back. Whatever gap the ball is in, that’s the gap I want to be in.”

Haynesworth said one aspect that has surprised him since arriving in New England last Thursday is how welcoming everyone has been.

Maybe he’ll revert to his old self, but context is everything in life, and Haynesworth seems to understand that he has a real opportunity here.

This also shows a real contrast between Bill Belichick and Mike Shanahan. I blame Shanahan and the Redskins for most of the problems last season with Haynesworth. Sure, the guy can be a real jerk, but he’s a dominating force as a 4-3 tackle, yet Shanahan insisted on playing him as a nose tackle in the 3-4. It was idiotic, and it helps to explain why Shanahan went through defensive coordinators in Denver like hot women go through shoes. In contrast, Belichick will happily alter his scheme to fit his talent. He wasn’t always like that. I had to suffer watching him coach the Browns back in the 90s, but he obviously became a better coach through the years. Shanahan on the other hand seems to be regressing as his ego grows.

Like Mike Florio, I like this trade (not yet confirmed) for both teams.

As Florio points out, people will give Bill Belichick the benefit of the doubt. Other teams would likely be criticized for taking on this head case.

That said, Belichick will likely use Albert Haynesworth properly, avoided the idiotic showdowns in Washington where defensive offensive “genius” Mike Shanahan tried to make this elite interior pass rusher into a hole-clogging nose tackle.

As resident Patriots homer expert Rosenthal points out, the Pats use a 4-3 front roughly half the time. Thus, Haynesworth likely will be a part-time player, but he possibly will be in the alignment he prefers 100 percent of the time that he’s on the field.

And while there’s no way he’d be asked to play the nose tackle position in New England’s 3-4 alignment, thanks to the presence of Vince Wilfork, Belichick surely wouldn’t expect Haynesworth to be a traditional lineman-occupying presence at defensive end in that formation. That’s where Belichick’s brain becomes important. When a player doesn’t like a certain type of system, it’s because he doesn’t play as well in that system. So instead of forcing Haynesworth to eat his brussel sprouts, Belichick will find ways to let Haynesworth get the most out of his talents. Who knows? Maybe that will mean periodically lining him up on the edge in obvious passing situations and letting him maul a tackle one-on-one and chase down the quarterback.

Belichick understands the concept of calculated risks. His team needs a pass rush, and this move makes sense.

Meanwhile, the Redskins are looking for a fresh start, so this helps. We haven’t seen them break the bank yet with idiotic free agent signings, so maybe new GM Bruce Allen might be taking control from Mr. Ego Daniel Snyder.

While appearing on KFAN 1130 in Minneapolis on Wednesday, free agent Randy Moss dropped a few loud hints that he would like to return to the Patriots next season.

“If you ask me where my heart and where I’m happy is,” Moss said, “I love Tom Brady and I love playing for coach Belichick.”

Really? Then why didn’t he do what Belichick asked him to last year and not complain about his contract situation to the media? Had he kept working hard, showed a little patience and let the situation play itself out, then maybe he never would have been traded. Instead, he reminded people at every turn that he didn’t have a contract and essentially got himself traded out of New England.

But now he wants back in after a couple of miserably months in Minnesota (whom he also said he would “love” to play for again) and Tennessee. Interesting. If I were Belichick, I’d take Moss back in a heartbeat. Why, you ask? The great thing about Randy Moss is that he’s not very hard to figure out. When his team is winning or when he feels like he has something to prove, he plays with hunger and motivation. He gave up in Oakland because he didn’t have to prove himself and because the Raiders were losers. When he was dealt to New England, he once again wanted to show people how good he was and he preformed at a high level because he loved being a part of a winner. But that eventually wore off so he made money his main priority and then promptly fell off the face of the earth after he was traded.

But now he’s motivated again and he would probably come real cheap after the way his season ended last year. If Belichick was interested, I’m willing to bet that Moss would jog to New England just to have one more chance to play for a winner.