Patriots at Redskins

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FIVE THINGS TO WATCH:REDSKINS

1. The first-team offense's pursuit of a touchdown - In the first two preseason games, quarterback Jason Campbell played five drives and did not reach the end zone (four punts and a field goal). Campbell figures to play at least the first half and will look to erase the stench of going 1-for-7 last week. Campbell shrugged off the struggles but admitted finding a rhythm that produces a touchdown is important considering the starters barely will play in the final preseason game at Jacksonville.

2. Pressuring Tom Brady -The Patriots' quarterback was leveled early in the loss to Cincinnati last week. The Redskins forced Pittsburgh's Charlie Batch to scramble several times, so expect the defense to test Brady and his offensive line. Look for Albert Haynesworth sliding to defensive end on third down, and watch New England's blocking plan for rookie Brian Orakpo, who was blocked by a tackle and a running back last week.

3. Kelly's emergence - Malcolm Kelly and fellow second-year receiver Devin Thomas were given every chance at the start of camp to displace Antwaan Randle El as the No. 2 receiver or become a reliable No. 3 option. Only Kelly has taken hold of the opportunity. Following a hamstring injury, he has returned to make flashy catches in both preseason games. Going against a veteran defense will be a fine test for Kelly and will help the Redskins' coaches decide whether he can play 50 snaps each game.

4. The No. 3 quarterback competition - Only in the District can something like this captivate sports talk radio, but Chase Daniel's two-touchdown performance against the Steelers combined with Colt Brennan's so-so preseason put a dent into the Cult of Colt. Both players figure to get a quarter of playing time, and Brennan is under the spotlight - he needs to be better to secure the spot.

5. Defending the Patriots' receivers - The Redskins' secondary hasn't been great this preseason. There have been too many third-down conversions and too much cushion given in coverage. The next test is Randy Moss and Joey Galloway. With Rogers out, it's an opportunity for Fred Smoot and Justin Tryon to showcase for the nickel spot, and safety LaRon Landry has to be aware of the shallow crossing routes he was late to cover against the Steelers.

 

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Essentially a final rehearsal

Matchup with Patriots is last major warmup for Redskins' starters


Back in the day, when Jim Zorn was playing and Joe Bugel was developing a reputation as one of the NFL's top offensive line coaches, the preseason meant six games, 130-player rosters, myriad collisions and a what-me-worry attitude about over-hitting in camp.

If one guy got hurt - or even three guys got hurt - there was always somebody in reserve.

"We played our regulars because if they got hurt, we just moved on to somebody else," Bugel said. "Now you don't want to keep Chris Samuels with a bunch of hey-yous on the other team flying around and going for his knees. With the limited squad, preservation is the biggest thing."

Except for Friday night. The handcuffs come off the Washington Redskins and New England Patriots for at least the first half when both teams play their third preseason game, universally recognized as the final rehearsal for the first-team players.

The starters barely break a sweat in the first game. They may play 20 snaps in the second. Next week, the inactive lists will be lengthy as coaches give their starters extra rest before the opener.

While the past two weeks have been about the youngsters, Friday is about Jason Campbell getting the Redskins into the end zone and seeing whether the revamped pass rush can harass Tom Brady.

"It's a warmup game," Zorn said. "The last game, you really want to have no major changes for your first team, and you get your starters a really good rest. So when you do load them up for that first regular-season game, everybody is champing on the bit."

Zorn can relate to the young players who will have to wait a week for their last chance to make an impression. Before he was the starting quarterback in Seattle, he was in Dallas' training camp. The roster started at 130, was cut down to 80 and then returned to 120 when the veterans showed up.

"I'm looking around for the veterans because we got all these reps," Zorn said. "When the veterans came in, we got nothing. I don't think I even played in the first three preseason games."

In Seattle's first season, 1976, the initial camp roster was 109 players, including 25 draft picks. Eventually, the players chosen in the expansion draft reported, swelling the number to 136. Zorn, though, said he didn't play two to three quarters a game in every preseason contest, so some things from the 1970s haven't changed. "We would build up from a quarter to a half, and it really is much like the system we're trying to play this year," he said. "But if I had played poorly, I always played a lot more in the next game."

The Redskins are expected to dress 78 players against the Patriots. After minor setbacks early in training camp, the Redskins are in remarkably good health, perhaps a product of a training camp that was without a day that included two full-pads practices.

"You have five to six running backs, and it's very, very difficult to [hit a lot] and keep from getting people injured," defensive coordinator Greg Blache said. "That's when players get injured - as soon as you start tackling, you get piles and that's when players get injured. ... It creates a health issue."

The Redskins' health issue is fine; cornerback Carlos Rogers is the only starter out. The Redskins' points issue is another matter - and the chief storyline entering the starters' final performance of the preseason.

Campbell has led five drives and has yet to find the end zone (four punts, one field goal). Granted, he has been without Santana Moss and Clinton Portis for a game apiece, but the Redskins desire a productive finish.

"We do need to put points on the board," Portis said. "We found a rhythm last week offensively; we just have to continue to improve."

The Redskins' first-team offense found success on last week's opening drive against Pittsburgh... until they got to the 3-yard line. The Redskins were stuffed on consecutive runs and settled for a field goal.

For Zorn, that sequence has been pounded home the entire week as he described the effort it takes to drive down the field against an elite defense only to limp off the field with three points instead of seven.

"I want to see a sustained drive, and I want to see us push it in when we get to the 3-yard line," Zorn said. "I want to see us not getting down when something bad happens, being able to come back out, concentrate, make the adjustments, stay together, work hard and literally fight and scrap for everything we can."

Although Campbell's performance has been less than stellar, the quarterback remains rightly upbeat.

"I've been in games where I was [throwing well], so 1-for-7 is something I'm not concerned about," he said. "We haven't played a whole lot, but we do want to find ourselves in the end zone."

 

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Five Things To Watch For Friday Nightatroits


This is it. Friday night in Washington is the third preseason game of the year for the Patriots -- traditionally, it?s the preseason game where the starters play the most. It?s the last chance to see a reasonable facsimile of New England?s starting offense and defense in game action before Opening Night against Buffalo Sept. 14.

All week in Foxborough, it?s felt less like preseason and more like a regular-season week. There?s less big picture stuff and more film work, game-planning and situational football.

?When you?re out there in the third preseason game, you?re through those early phases of training camp where you made a lot of those mistakes,? said quarterback Tom Brady. ?We?re not in a two-a-day schedule anymore, so you actually have time to watch film on the opponent you?re playing. It?s very much like a normal week for us here, in terms of the schedule and film study.?

Here are five things we?ll be keeping an eye on:

Game shape. You can only do so much to replicate game action in practice, and with the starters likely set to play well into the second half Friday night against the Redskins -- in what will likely be typically steamy August conditions in the D.C. suburbs -- it?ll be a good test for both the No. 1 offense and No. 1 defense to see if they are both ready to handle regular-season conditions.

?It?s going to be our first time playing a number of snaps,? said veteran safety James Sanders. ?It?s going to be interesting to see what kind of shape we really are in, because game shape and practice shape are totally different.?

As is always the case this preseason, Brady will bear watching. He played 24 snaps in the preseason opener against the Eagles, and 13 a week later against the Bengals. If form holds, look for him to get up into the thirties on Friday. Thus far, he has been able to pass every test in the rehab process, and Friday presents another challenge for his surgically repaired left knee. If he does take that many snaps, it?ll mark the first time since his surgery that he?s played at least two consecutive quarters, and it would mark the most football he?s played at one time in just over 18 months.

The cornerbacks. Unless veteran Leigh Bodden does something spectacularly awful over the next two weeks, he?s pretty much played himself into one of the starting cornerback positions with a very good camp and two solid preseason games. And now that second-year corner Jonathan Wilhite is out of the red non-contact jersey, he?s got the inside track on the other starting cornerback job. Look for both to go deep into Friday?s game.

But how will the rest of the field shake out? Rookie Darius Butler had a strong night against the Bengals, while second-year corner Terrence Wheatley -- who looked brilliant at times last season -- appeared a step behind on several occasions. What to think of veteran Shawn Springs, who has struggled at times to see the field and was a mixed bag last Thursday against Cincinnati?

Wheatley?s performance has been the most troubling. Before he was injured midway through last season, he was clearly playing very well -- before getting hurt against the Colts in November, he made a sensational play to break up a Peyton Manning pass for Marvin Harrison. And at the start of training camp, he appeared ready to challenge for a starting job.

But running with the second-team defense last week against the Bengals, he was clearly being targeted by the Cincinnati offense.

?I have to go back and look at the technique,? Wheatley said. ?I?m not sure what more I could do technique-wise. I have to go back and look at the film. But I have to get better than that.?

Tight ends. This has been a great position battle. Just when we were ready to write off Benjamin Watson, he returns to what appears to be a regular practice schedule, which means he looks like he?s in line to play Friday night against the Redskins. Chris Baker, who caught a pair of touchdown passes in the preseason opener against the Eagles, will also see plenty of snaps. Dave Thomas and Alex Smith will also be looking to make their mark in the biggest preseason game of the four.

Handicapping the race is difficult, but it wasinteresting to hear Belichick single out Baker this week, saying, ?Chris, in particular, has come in and done a good job in all areas that we?ve asked him to work in.? Those words make me think that Baker is the leader in the clubhouse in a pitched position battle the likes of which Belichick has never seen before in New England.

?I would say it?s the best we?ve had. I think it?s been good,? Belichick said when asked about this year?s tight end battle. ?I think Chris [Baker] has really shown that he can adapt to our system and he's done a good job, really, in all the areas. Benjamin [Watson] has missed a little bit of time, but he?s performed in the opportunities that he's had and we?ve certainly seen him over the last few years.

?Dave [Thomas], even though he was here last year, I think he still is improving, over the course of last year and this year combined. Athletically, he looks more like he did his rookie year in terms of quickness, speed, explosiveness out of breaks and things like that. Alex [Smith] is a kind of combination of a couple different guys. He?s a bigger guy. He's more of a presence on the line of scrimmage. He?s a pretty athletic guy that can run and be a factor down the field in the passing game, too.?

The running game. So much of the focus of the Patriots offense through the first two games has been about Brady?s return and re-establishing No. 12 in the passing game, so the running game can be excused for not getting a lot of pub. But when it?s counted in the first two games, the running game hasn?t looked crisp at all.

Fred Taylor drew his first start Thursday night against the Bengals, and the veteran running back finished with seven carries for 26 yards. Laurence Maroney?s preseason line: Two games, nine carries, 20 yards. Meh. Sammy Morris ran for 45 yards on 12 carries in the preseason opener, but much of that came in the second half against backups. (Morris didn?t play against the Bengals.) And as is usually the case, Kevin Faulk has been more of a presence in the passing game than the running game. (37 yards receiving, 14 yards rushing in two preseason games.)

The only running back who has looked consistently good has been BenJarvus Green-Ellis, but much of his good work has come long after the starters have departed, so his numbers (14 rushes, 75 yards over two games) must be taken with a grain of salt.

Sammy Morris and Kevin Faulk have been absent from the stretching portion of practice recently, which is a sign they might not dress for the game. That could mean more touches for Maroney, Green-Ellis and Taylor.

?As a game, I really don?t care if it's preseason or regular season. It?s a game. I treat every game the same -- go out there and go hard,? Maroney said. ?I really don?t know how long I?m going to play. I just know that whenever I do play, just be ready.?

Communication and chemistry. In the first half of last Thursday?s game against the Bengals, Brady was flattened by Cincinnati?s Robert Geathers, leaving Gillette Stadium awfully quiet. On the play, it appeared right tackle Nick Kaczur was beaten badly by the Bengals? lineman, who looked like he simply raced around the slower Kaczur on the way to a frightening hit on the quarterback.

But it turns out the negative play was Brady?s fault -- it was supposed to be a draw to Taylor. However, Brady held on to the ball, and Taylor ran by him. Geathers raced past Kaczur -- who actually pushed him upfield, as you are supposed to in a run-blocking situation -- and Brady was hammered.

?That was my fault, and I certainly deserve that,? Brady told WEEI this week. ?I made a poor decision and I?m the one who paid for it. We learned from it, and we?re moving on. ? He certainly shouldn?t have been looked poorly upon for that play.?

The preseason is for ironing out problems with overthrows, blown coverage and miscommunication. In the final meaningful preseason contest of the year -- the last preseason game where the starters are going to see meaningful minutes anyway -- Friday will be as good a time as any to take care of those sorts of glitches.