In his 104-day career with the Patriots, Albert Haynesworth proved himself to be maddeningly unreliable.

When he was right, he was pure dominance on the football field, a 6-foot-6, 350-pound buzzsaw. In his first regular-season game as a Patriot he was a disruptive force, brutalizing Miami’s guard Richie Incognito and allowing Patriots fans to briefly wonder if he was close to the same form he flashed in 2008 when he was named the Defensive Player of the Year. It was play like that that made people around the league say as late as a couple of weeks ago that if Haynesworth could get to 100 percent -- both mentally and physically -- the Patriots defense could turn things around.

Adding to that sense of optimism around Haynesworth (at least the start of the season) was the fact that he agreed to rework his deal, choosing to go with an incentive-based package. In early August, Yahoo! reported Haynesworth agreed to a base salary of $1.5 million, but would be able to make really good money if he stayed on the field. If he played 20 percent of the snaps, he would get $1 million. He would get an additional $590,000 once he gets over each of the following thresholds: 45 percent of the team’s snaps, 50 percent, 55 percent, 60 percent and 65 percent. In addition, he would get an additional $400,000 if he made the Pro Bowl. If Haynesworth could be motivated by anything, the thinking was, it would be money.

But he wasn’t able to build on that Miami performance. In fact, it was the unquestioned high point of the season. He missed two games, his snaps decreased and he became less and less relevant. While he was still an undeniable presence, his appearances on the field were few and far between. Our pals at Pro Football Focus noted that when he was on the field, he was able to do a good job of bringing pressure on the quarterback -- one pressure for every eight snaps. The problem was, he just wasn’t on the field all that often, and he ended the season with 132 snaps in six games.

It all came to a head on Sunday, when he was on the field for just nine snaps. From my own notes, there were three plays where he was competitive with the New York offensive line. The other six plays were won by Giants’ offensive linemen. On his final play from scrimmage in a Patriots’ uniform, he was absolutely pancaked by Giants offensive lineman David Diehl, who just moved him out of the way as New York’s Brandon Jacobs went in for a 10-yard touchdown run.

In the end, he may have ultimately been undone by an animated sideline discussion with defensive line coach Pepper Johnson on Sunday. Belichick and Johnson have been through the wars together -- more than any other coach on the staff -- and if there’s a disconnect between a player and Johnson, Belichick is going to choose Johnson.

Ironic that back in August, Johnson spoke of Haynesworth in glowing terms.

“He’s very unlike what a lot of you read about,” Johnson said. “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. 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. I’ve seen in other aspects and from other people in general … I don’t know if it’s me, but some of the stuff is just not…you need to know both sides of the story.

“I think Albert is a great person. He’s been trying to work his way out on the field, and he’s been tremendous in the classroom [to] date. I’m expecting a lot from him.”

As for who will take his place, two younger players will now see more time. Second-year defensive tackle Kyle Love had supplanted Haynesworth as a starter -- as Haynesworth snaps had dropped over the year, the snaps for Love increased -- and the Patriots will likely put even more on his plate going forward. And Ron Brace, who saw his first action of the season last week after coming off the PUP list, also now has the opportunity to be an impactful player on the New England defensive line.

In addition, this means more work for veteran defensive tackles Gerard Warren and Vince Wilfork. While Warren will see more snaps, it’s impossible to say Wilfork will play more -- he’s already been on the field more through the first eight games than he has in recent memory. Wilfork has played 495 of a possible 568 snaps, or 87 percent of the time, easily the highest percentage of any New England defensive lineman.