The Washington Redskins took the bye week to rest their players. After three games, the team has lost the entire right-side of the offensive line; half the starters on defense are nicked and bruised, so the early break is needed. Coach Joe Gibbs said, “We talked it over as a coaching staff and we decided that the best thing for us was to get seven full days of rest, come back on Monday for work, take Tuesday off again, and then go into the regular work week.”
Some of the players that would have missed practice time last week included:
Linebacker Rocky McIntosh who has a sore shoulder.
Defensive Tackle Cornelius Griffin’s knee and hip have been bothering him.
Wide Receiver Santana Moss has a groin strain.
Linebacker Marcus Washington has been playing in pain after dislocating his right elbow in the preseason and he suffered a setback Monday night.
Fred Smoot missed another week with his hamstring problem.
Rookie safety LaRon Landry cut his right hand.
Defensive Tackle Anthony Montgomery sprained his right thumb.
Wide Receiver Antwaan Randle El has a sore knee.
Defensive End Phillip Daniels is still nursing a bruised back.
Running Back and return specialist Rock Cartwright has a toe injury.
Fullback Mike Sellers calf is bruised.
The Redskins returned to practice on Monday afternoon, but running back Clinton Portis and wide receiver Santana Moss did not take part. Moss said he could miss Sunday’s game but hopes to play, while Portis suffered a recurrence of the tendinitis in his right knee. Cornelius Griffin, Phillip Daniels, Marcus Washington, Rocky McIntosh, and LaRon Landry all took part. Fred Smoot practiced, but was limited.
Roster Moves:
The Redskins signed sixteen year veteran WR Keenan McCardell who was released by the Texans at the end of training camp. McCardell was offered a minimum contract to join the team in the off-season but he signed the same type of offer from Houston which is where he currently lives. To make room for McCardell, the Redskins released safety Omar Stoutmire.
McCardell spent the past three NFL seasons with the San Diego Chargers, he started 11 game in 2006, He had is best years in Jacksonville, where he played from 1996-2001. He still ranks second in Jaguars team history with 499 receptions for 6,393 yards and 30 touchdowns.
He was drafted by the Redskins in the 12th round (326th overall) of the 1991 NFL Draft and received his first Super Bowl ring after Super Bowl XXVI despite being on the injured reserve list.
McCardell also has played for the Cleveland Browns, and got his second Super Bowl ring with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002.
The 6-1 and 188 pound receiver ranks ninth all-time in receptions in NFL history and currently has 861 catches for 11,117 yards and 62 touchdowns.
Burning Questions:
— What Two Minute Offense? —
The Redskins continue to give fans fits with the execution of their two minute drill. With the team down by a touchdown, the Redskins moved the ball to the one yard line. Campbell spiked the ball on first down because they were out of time outs. It was later explained that this was done to change “packages”, the Redskins had run consecutive plays with three wide-outs but wanted the “Jumbo package” in at the two yard line. What baffled most fans was the fact they threw on second down from the “Jumbo” for an incompletion, making it third and goal, then ran the same play twice for no gain.
Last week the Redskins also had three penalties during the two minute drill at the end of the first half.
— Who is the Number Three? —
Wide Receiver Brandon Lloyd had been behind Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El on the depth chart but it now appears James Thrash has passed him. Brandon Lloyd was active for the Giants game but played only a few snaps and had no catches. Like Lloyd, Thrash hasn’t had a catch this year either, but was a starter in week two after Brandon had started week one. The Redskins have 594 passing yards going into the bye week, Moss and Randle El account for 437 of those yards, the rest of yards come from the 21 catches made by running backs and tight ends. Wide receiver Reche Caldwell has been with the team since week two and should be ready to contribute after the bye.
5 Quotes to Note :
— Quarterback Jason Campbell on the final plays of the Giants game:
“It was a matter of the time we had. As a quarterback you look to the sidelines and we wanted to spike the ball so that’s what we do. We still had three opportunities to get into the end zone from the one [yard line]. As an offense we need to put that one behind us. It is going to hurt us a little bit during the off week but we have to recover. We have to keep our heads up high and continue to move on. It is a long season. We have 13 regular season games to go. We have to put it [the loss] behind us and move on.”
— Fullback Mike Sellers on being back with the Redskins:
“I appreciate what I have leaps and bounds more than I did the first time I was here, It’s like the old saying: You really don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. I’m totally happy. I don’t think I would want to play anywhere else… I was grateful when I got that phone call to come back, but Coach Gibbs hadn’t really talked to me until one day we were going out to practice during OTAs in 2004 and he said, ‘You’re a great player. You can do a lot of stuff for us. Just keep your nose clean.’ I owed it to him, and I owed it to myself to succeed.”
— Assistant Head Coach-Defense Gregg Williams on the teams physical play on third downs:
“With both third downs and in the red zone, sometimes it’s a matter of taking a pride and a responsibility. You have to play team defense down there. You can’t play individual defense down there… If you’re not physical in this game, you’re a punching bag. We want opponents to be the punching bag, not us to be the punching bag… I can choose who plays and who doesn’t play, and as long as I’m here, we’re going to play physical all the time. If I have choices on replacing people that don’t want to play that way, I’ll replace them. I don’t care how much money they make. It doesn’t make any difference.”
— Running Back Clinton Portis on the decision not to use him the final plays of the Giants game:
“They called the play, Ladell was in the game, and I’m sitting over there like, ‘Please save this game for us.’ It gave us the opportunity to stay undefeated, but it didn’t happen… If Ladell had scored that touchdown, it wouldn’t be a problem. But we didn’t score, so now it’s, Well, why wasn’t Clinton in?’ But who is to say I would have scored?”
— Wide Receiver Antwaan Randle El on his early success this season:
“A lot of it is knowing the offense better… A lot of it is working with quarterback Jason Campbell in the off-season. I came in last year and wanted to get some big-time things going, but it didn’t (happen)… This year, you run your routes and you know you’ve got an opportunity to get the ball. You felt that like that before, but it’s a little different because you’ve made the plays and you know they’re trying to get you the ball.”
Clark to Enter Ring of Honor:
Former Redskins wide receiver Gary Clark will be inducted into the Redskins Ring of Fame at FedEx Field during halftime of the game against the Detroit Lions on Sunday. Clark was drafted by the Redskins in the second round (55th overall) of the 1984 USFL Supplemental Draft. Clark played eight seasons with the Redskins before going to the Phoenix Cardinals for the 1993 and 1994 seasons, he retired from the NFL after spending the 1995 season with the Miami Dolphins. He finished his career with 699 receptions for 10,856 yards and 65 touchdowns. The 5-9, 175-pound Clark had 549 catches for 8,742 yards and 58 touchdowns as a Redskin, both third-best in team history. Clark also had 27 100-yard games as a Redskin and was a four-time Pro Bowler.
Edit: This blog was archived in May of 2016 from our original articles database.It was originally posted by Bernie Marshall