Players come, players go. Jessie Armstead left. Dhani Jones took his place.

This afternoon, Armstead starts for the Redskins. Jones starts for the Giants at weakside linebacker, the spot Armstead owned for nearly a decade.

“I’m just gonna play linebacker like I play it, with all my heart and all my mind,” Jones said. “I’m not going to be thinking, ‘Oh, Jessie’s over here or Jessie’s over there.’ I root for him just as much as he roots for me.”

No one thought for a moment that Jones, a third-year player from Michigan, would make anyone forget Armstead, and thus far he hasn’t. Starting for the first time in his career, Jones is tied with Brandon Short for third place on the team with 55 tackles. He has played decently, not spectacularly.

“The thing you get with Dhani is the speed and quickness to get to guys and cover guys and stuff like that,” defensive coordinator Johnnie Lynn said. “And then the thing that Jessie had was just the experience and the instincts to do things. You know Dhani, this is kinda like his real official rookie year, so there’s some things that he’s learning, not saying he’s playing bad because he’s not, he’s playing good.”

An eclectic sort off the field, Jones never bought into the notion that replacing Armstead was a burden few could withstand.

“When Jessie came in, how long was it that LT’s name wasn’t still in the picture?” Jones said. “LT’s name still remains in the picture. And you can’t necessarily come in and just forget about the man that was here before. I mean, nine years, and Pro Bowl like four or five times. He was the heart of the defense, a staple in New York Giants history.

“I mean, you watch the Jumbo screen during the game, and he’s still up on the Jumbo screen, and things like that. His name is never gonna die, and I have to come in there, and people always ask me the question like, ‘Are you going to fill his shoes?’ I’m not filling someone’s shoes; I’m trying to walk along the same path that has been laid before me by LT and Jessie Armstead in my own shoes.”