Noisy Qwest Field not a top concern

No stadium has produced more false starts by the opposition than Seattle’s Qwest Field.

Presented with that fact yesterday about the Seahawks’ home stadium, the Washington Redskins responded with a collective, “So what?”

Center Casey Rabach: “I can’t imagine playing anywhere that was louder than Minnesota. We know what to expect. I’m not too worried about it.”

Associate head coach-offense Al Saunders: “We’ve played in some really noisy places — Philadelphia, Minnesota and our place. For our guys, it’s part of the culture to be able to handle that.”

Quarterback Todd Collins: “It sure is pretty loud, but you just deal with it. You can’t do anything about it. Guys have to pay attention. Listen and try to make plays in your favor to quiet them down.”

Opponents have 68 false start penalties (2.83 a game) at Seattle. The Redskins had two in their playoff loss in January 2006. The teams play Saturday in an NFC wild card game.

The Redskins are 4-4 on the road this season, silencing crowds in Philadelphia, Minnesota and the Meadowlands (twice).

The Redskins have 23 false start penalties, including 12 on the road. In their first road game (Philadelphia), they had four false starts. They had three against Minnesota but none at Dallas.

Fullback Mike Sellers thinks the Seahawks pipe in crowd noise.

“That place has to be miked up because the last time we played there, it was ridiculous — we couldn’t hear ourselves talk,” he said. “For a stadium that small, it can’t be that loud.”

Said Rabach: “I’m not touching that one.”

Thrash a ‘concern’

The Redskins conducted a walkthrough yesterday and don’t have to list the injury status of receiver James Thrash (ankle) until tomorrow morning. But coach Joe Gibbs said Thrash’s injury is a “concern.”

“He said he tweaked it some but not like he did before,” Gibbs said.

Thrash sustained a high ankle sprain in the Week 10 loss to Philadelphia and missed four games.

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