The Redskins travel to Ford Field on Sunday to face the Detroit Lions, this is the only time this season the Redskins will play in a dome, Kickoff is at 1 pm. Detroit faced the Houston Texans last week and Lions’ quarterback Dan Orlovsky finished with 265 passing yards and a 99.6 rating, and wide receiver Calvin Johnson finished with 154 receiving yards but the Lions remain winless and have now dropped 13 of their last 14 games, including seven consecutive losses and eight straight defeats on the road. After seven weeks Detroit still hasn’t scored in the opening quarter of any game this season.
Last week Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell was 4-for-5 for just 17 yards, when he tweaked his groin as his foot slipped while attempting a pass to Fred Davis early in the first quarter but finished with 164 yards, completing 14 of 23 passes and one for a touchdown in a defensive battle against the Cleveland Browns. The Redskins defense held the Browns to 236 total yards; they swarmed Jamal Lewis during the first half, holding the running back to 38 yards on 11 carries. Middle linebacker London Fletcher and safety Chris Horton were particularly active in holding Lewis to just 80 yards on 19 carries on the day and Carlos Rogers held Browns leading receiver Braylon Edwards to only four catches and 58 yards and no other Brown had more than two catches or 24 yards, as the Redskins held on to win 14-11 to improve to 5-2
The Redskins-Lions series dates all the way back to the early 1930s, they have met 36 times in the regular season and three times in the playoffs. The Redskins lead the series 26-10 in the regular season and 3-0 in the postseason. The Redskins beat the Lions 27-13 in the only playoff game to be held at Fed Ex Field. In their last meeting Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell completed 23-of-29 passes for 248 yards and two touchdowns and Defensive End Andre Carter had eight tackles and two sacks, including a safety on quarterback Jon Kitna as the Redskins beat the Lions 34-3.
News, Notes, and Quotes:
— New punter Ryan Plackemeier had a shaky start but got plenty of work, he punted eight times on Sunday averaging 37.3 yards gross and 28.8 yards net. Plackemeier had not kicked in a game since week one, he was released by the Seattle Seahawks shortly after that opening game. He also held on place kicker Shaun Suisham’s first missed field-goal attempt in the last nine attempts.
— Former punter Durant Brooks cleared waivers and agreed to an injury settlement on Monday, Brooks was a sixth-round selection in last April’s NFL draft, but was replaced last week by Ryan Plackemeier
— The Redskins offense has 332 consecutive pass attempts without an interception, which sets a NFL team record. The previous NFL mark of 281 consecutive pass attempts without an interception was set by the Oakland Raiders in 2001, of the 332 pass attempts Campbell has thrown 224 of them, Todd Collins has 105, Antwaan Randle El has two and Clinton Portis has one.
— The Redskins signed 6-3 and 320 pound guard Isaiah Ross to the Practice squad this week. Ross started his NFL career in 2004 with the San Diego Chargers after he went un-drafted coming out of the University of Nevada. He has spent time on the New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings practice squads this season, and has played in the Arena Football League the last two years. The roster spot on the practice squad opened up when offensive lineman Andrew Crummey was signed to the Cincinnati Bengals’ active roster.
— Clinton Portis continued the strong running that has made him the NFL rushing leader, and had his fourth straight 100-yard game and one touchdown en route to 175 yards. If he gains over 100 yards rushing against the Lions this weekend he will tie a franchise record for most consecutive 100-yard rushing games. Portis’ 818 yards are 134 more than any other NFL back has so far, and his seven TDs are tied for first. Portis had 100 yards in the second half alone against the Browns, his 25 carries for 175 yards is the second-best total in his five seasons as a Redskin.
— “Each week, he’s getting stronger and stronger, ‘Each week, he’s making more plays and big hits. It’s really amazing when you think about everything that happened to him last year, how far he’s come and where he’s at right now. ‘To have surgery and then sit out like he did, and to come back so soon and make the plays he’s making, it’s incredible, ‘He’s covering top receivers each week and doing a great job for us. For a lot of guys, who have had the injury he had, it’s really a mental thing. ‘Most guys think, ‘Am I ready for this? Can I do it?’ But he’s proven to himself each week, ‘Okay. I’m good. I’m good. It’s getting better.’ He’s confident in his mind, not worried about his knee and just making plays. We’re all really impressed and happy for Carlos because of all the work he put in to get here.” — Defensive tackle Lorenzo Alexander on the improvement in the play of cornerback Carlos Rogers
— “We’re not going to overlook Detroit, ‘that’s going to be the topic of the week. Nobody believes we overlooked the Rams because we played hard. But this is a big game for us. We can take care of our destiny in the division with Dallas losing to St. Louis and keep moving ahead.” — Tight End Chris Cooley on preparing to face another winless team this season
— “I can’t remember having to do it like that, having to have two goal-line type stands in such a short period of time, ‘The first series was a great stop. If they get a touchdown there, maybe the game goes a little bit different, we were feeling bad about how we let the team down, it was a long week for us defensively.” — Middle Linebacker London Fletcher on having to play back to back goal-line defensive series.
Comparing the Team Leaders:
The Detroit Lions are lead by QB Dan Orlovsky who has a QB rating of 72.9 with 518 passing yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions; Jason Campbell leads the Redskins’ offense with a QB rating of 96.3 with 1426 passing yards and has thrown seven touchdowns and no picks. Kevin Smith leads the Lions ground attack with 256 yards on 52 carries and averaging 4.9 yards per carry and has three touchdowns while Clinton Portis leads the NFL with 818 yards on 163 carries and averaging 5.0 yards per carry and has seven touchdowns. Calvin Johnson is the Lions top pass catcher with 531 yards and four touchdowns on 25 catches while averaging 21.2 yards per catch. The Redskins top wide receiver is Santana Moss averaging 15.7 yards per catch with 33 receptions for 518 yards and four touchdowns. Ernie Sims leads the Lions defense with 52 tackles, Dewayne White leads the team with four sacks, and Leigh Bodden has one interception for the Lions. London Fletcher leads the Redskins defense in tackles with 60 while Andre Carter has two sacks for the team lead and Chris Horton continues to lead the team with three interceptions.
Complete Tale of the Tapes:
Total Points Offense: Washington is ranked 23rd averaging 20 points per game and The Detroit Lions ranks 27th averaging 16.2 points per game
Total Offense: Washington is ranked 7th with 353.6 yards per game and The Detroit Lions ranks 27th with 265.0 ypg.
Rushing Offense: Washington is ranked 3rd with 158.1 yards per game and The Detroit Lions ranks 30th with 77.7 ypg.
Passing Offense: Washington is ranked 19th with 195.4 yards per game and The Detroit Lions ranks 22nd with 192.3 ypg.
Total Points Defense: Washington is ranked 8th giving up on average 18.3 points per game and The Detroit Lions ranks 32nd giving up on average 31.2 points per game
Total Defense: Washington is ranked 6th, giving up 278.7 yards per game and The Detroit Lions ranks 30th with 418.7 ypg.
Rushing Defense: Washington is ranked 7th, giving up 86.4 yards per game and The Detroit Lions ranks 31st with 167.5 ypg.
Passing Defense: Washington is ranked 12th, giving up 192.3 yards per game and The Detroit Lions ranks 30th with 251.2 ypg.
Injury Report:
Ladell Betts (knee/hamstring) is Out
Betts suffered a strained lateral collateral knee ligament and strained hamstring, with some swelling in his calf in Week 6, and will be out several weeks
Malcolm Kelly (Knee) is Out
Coach Jim Zorn said he will rest wide receiver Malcolm Kelly through the bye week and then decide whether to put him on the injured-reserve list after that
Shawn Springs (Calf) is listed as Questionable
Springs “tweaked” his calf during practice Thursday, and will be re-evaluated over the weekend
Fred Smoot (Groin) is Probable
Smoot’s participation was limited in practice this week, but is expected to play Sunday
Carlos Rogers (calf) is Probable
Rogers’ participation was limited in practice this week, but is expected to play Sunday
Cornelius Griffin (shoulder) is Out
Griffin has been dealing with a shoulder injury the past few weeks; Coach Zorn says he will hold Cornelius Griffin out
Clinton Portis (hip flexor) is Probable
Portis’s participation was limited in practice this week, but is expected to play Sunday
Chris Horton (ankle) is Probable
Horton did not practice Thursday, but is expected to play Sunday
Jason Taylor (knee) is Probable
Taylor’s participation was limited in practice this week, but is expected to play Sunday
Injured Reserves:
The following players are done for the 2008 season:
DE Alex Buzbee (Achilles Injury)
DE Phillip Daniels (Knee Injury)
S Reed Doughty (Back)
LB Matt Sinclair (Back)
Edit: This blog was archived in May of 2016 from our original articles database.It was originally posted by Bernie Marshall