Backups don't miss beat

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By Barker Davis

PHILADELPHIA | Three starters down, the Washington Redskins' defense rose up to dominate the Eagles over the final three quarters of Sunday's 23-17 victory at Lincoln Financial Field.

"In this business, there's always somebody nicked," said defensive end Andre Carter, who finished with a team-leading six tackles and two tackles for a loss, including a crucial negative-yardage stop of Eagles running back Brian Westbrook on third-and-1 at the Washington 2 midway through the fourth quarter. "The next guy has got to stand up and fill the void when we're missing someone. And that's what we did today. We went out and played 11 men as one, no egos, no individuals."

The Eagles began the game with a 12-play, 80-yard touchdown march but failed to match that efficiency for the remainder of the contest, a game that actually was more lopsided than the final margin might indicate.

In the last three quarters, the Eagles managed only 130 yards of total offense and five first downs, the vast majority coming on an 86-yard drive in the fourth quarter that yielded a field goal.

Five of Philadelphia's final six drives resulted in three- or four-and-out possessions - the Redskins dominated the line of scrimmage despite the absence of a starter on each level of the defense: end Jason Taylor, linebacker Marcus Washington and cornerback Shawn Springs.

"We feel like we can always plug guys in with this defense," said first-year defensive coordinator Greg Blache, who did just that with Demetric Evans (end), H.B. Blades (linebacker) and Fred Smoot, the team's nickel corner and sometime starter. "Our defense is built like an old automobile. You can replace an old belt here and a fuel pump there and keep on going. We don't have to have computer chips and all that. This is a defense you can fix on the back 40 ... with a couple sticks of chewing gum and a roll of duct tape."

Of the trio of plug-in players, Smoot predictably made the greatest impact, notching four solo tackles opposite Carlos Rogers. The 29-year-old Smoot started his first four seasons in the league with the Redskins (2001-04), struggled in a stint with the Minnesota Vikings and is delighted to be back with the team that drafted him out of Mississippi State.

"It feels so good to be part of this family again," Smoot said after Sunday's massive divisional road victory. "I'm definitely more humble this time around, more appreciative of every minute I get to play football."

Never at a loss for words, Smoot said nobody on the Redskins' sideline panicked when Philadelphia's DeSean Jackson returned a punt for a score after Washington's opening possession to put the Eagles up 14-0 before the stadium was even full.

"I've been on this team when guys would have had their heads down after that," Smoot said. "Not this team. We just looked up and thought, 'OK, now it's time to turn it on.' I can't tell you how good it feels to play for a team which is also a family. This isn't a team of individuals, and I know because I've been one of those guys on more than one of those teams. That was just 11 guys out there playing Redskins football as a team."

Most members of the Washington defense credit the down-home, down-to-earth Blache for fostering that atmosphere of individual accountability but group success.

"He's awesome to play for, absolutely the best," said Carter, an eight-year veteran. "The first thing he said to us was, 'You guys are grown men and professionals. Behave like that and I'll never treat you otherwise.' He's not the kind of guy who is going to [scream and curse at] you. He's much more subtle than that. But he doesn't miss a thing when it comes to preparation. I think he's totally changed the group mind-set of this defense."