Reserves on alert

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By Ryan O'Halloran

Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Blache has put Demetric Evans, Chris Wilson, Lorenzo Alexander and Erasmus James on notice - expect to play more Sunday against New Orleans.

Blache said Thursday before practice the coaching staff erred in not using the aforementioned reserve defensive linemen enough last week against the New York Giants.

"We just need to get more snaps to those guys because they're quality players and they're good enough to help us and we need to keep our top guys fresher than we have," he said. "We need to do a little bit better job of that."

The kickoff temperature is expected to be in the mid-to-high 80s, and this will be the Redskins' first day game. Throw in the fact New Orleans has a pass-first offense and the need for late-game energy is even more important.

"It will make a lot of sense to make sure guys are giving their all at the end because the Saints are an offense that likes to throw screens, and we'll be running after guys like Reggie Bush," Evans said.

Defensive ends Andre Carter (66 out of 69 snaps, not including penalties) and Jason Taylor (55) led the way against the Giants. At tackle, Cornelius Griffin played 51 and Anthony Montgomery and Kedric Golston 39 and 26, respectively.

That didn't mean a lot of time for the reserves. Evans had 20 and Alexander 16, but James (three) and Wilson (two) barely saw the field.

"I thought we would rotate a lot more knowing we have guys that can play," Evans said. "It's not like we have guys that are inexperienced or didn't perform well in training camp. If he does rotate more this week, that's a good thing because it will keep guys fresh down the stretch."

Evans said there's an adjustment when the rotation is abnormal.

"It's hard to get a feel for what the offense is doing," he said. "If you're getting two plays, you hope they're passing downs so you know what they're going to do. It's tough to get an idea of what's going on or get an idea of the scheme and how a certain guy blocks you."