Redskins Park

Woeful Wuerffel

Danny Wuerffel had better be making a difference for the Redskins as a mentor to Patrick Ramsey, ’cause the ol’ Gators quarterback isn’t getting it done on the field. Wuerffel, signed by coach Steve Spurrier this week, has not looked good during the few opportunities he has had to line up under center.

Yesterday the former Heisman Trophy winner was given four snaps in 7-on-7 and full-squad drills. He threw interceptions on the first two (the second ball thrown with so little oomph that cornerback Champ Bailey had to wait for it to come to him before sprinting down the sideline for a touchdown). Wuerffel’s third pass almost was picked off, too. On his fourth snap, the coaches wised up and just had him hand the ball off.

Wuerffel’s performance was so abysmal, it made Spurrier completely forget about the wealth of positive things that actually happened yesterday morning.

Asked if he thought it was one of the best practice sessions of camp, Spurrier said, “No, I thought it was one of the worst for the offensive guys. … Our quarterbacks looked lost sometimes. They were running around, hitching around, getting hung up. We don’t have a chance if we do that in the games.”

Spurrier later amended his harsh assessment, saying that it was a good practice for the majority of his players, just not his QBs (in particular, the one he goes back a ways with).

It’s mine! No, it’s mine!

The highlight of yesterday’s practice came during 7-on-7 passing drills, when Ramsey tried to thread a needle to Laveranues Coles with Bailey right on top of him.

Coles, Bailey and the ball all arrived at the same time, with both players getting their hands on it. The two hung on for dear life as they fell to the ground, then started tugging away as the crowd and the rest of the Redskins cheered.

In the end, Bailey wound up with the ball, though offensive coordinator Hue Jackson was adamant that Coles caught it first and would have been whistled down.

Either way, it was an all-out play by two of the NFL’s best.

Cheatin’

Rookie wide receiver Taylor Jacobs got wide open on veteran cornerback Alex Molden during individual drills.

Too bad Jacobs was cheating. Much of his room to roam came from a push-off that immediately ignited the defensive backs on the sideline, who started yelling, “You can’t do that!”

To the casual fan, the play might not have looked that bad. But that’s because Michael Irvin conditioned us to the occasional (OK, frequent) push-off.

Defensive backs coach George Catavolos later explained that the receiver can get away with a slight push with the back of his trailing arm, but as soon as he grabs with his leading arm (as Jacobs did), it’s an easy whistle for the ref.

— Mark Zuckerman and Jody Foldesy

OVERHEARD

“We could stink up the joint down there if we don’t look a lot better than we did out there today.”

— Steve Spurrier on Saturday’s exhibition opener at Carolina.

“That’s like stealin’!”

— Running back Chad Morton after streaking past linebacker Kevin Mitchell for a deep completion.

BY THE NUMBERS

18 Career 100-yard rushing games by Carolina running back Stephen Davis. Just one came last year with the Redskins.

4 Career 100-yard receiving games by Redskins wide receiver Laveranues Coles. Two came last season.

TODAY’S SCHEDULE

Full-squad practices scheduled from 9 to 11 a.m. and 4 to 5:45 p.m. Gates at Redskin Park open at 8 a.m. Go to www.redskins.com or call 703/726-7411 for directions and daily updates.

TODAY’S WEATHER

Isolated storms. High: 83 degrees. Chance of rain: 30 percent.