Even if the Washington Redskins’ offense had marched down the field Saturday night, scored three touchdowns and looked in pristine condition, quarterback Mark Brunell would be worried.
The 14-year veteran knows each team is in uncertain territory until the first week of the regular season, so he’s taking the Redskins’ preseason struggles — 58 snaps, no points by the starters — in stride.
“I would be concerned if we had scored 35 points a couple days ago,” Brunell said yesterday at Redskin Park. “You’re always concerned. You never know what that first game is going to bring. There are always areas, regardless of how many points we haven’t scored, that you can get better at.”
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The Redskins (0-3) close the preseason Thursday night against Baltimore, the offense’s last chance to get into any kind of groove heading into the Sept. 11 opener against Minnesota. They may be searching for momentum, but their confidence remains high.
“This is our first time in this offense, so we have nothing to gauge ourselves on,” Brunell said. “But there’s not a lack of confidence. We have some work to do, but we’re progressing, and we’ll continue to progress.”
The numbers suggest the Redskins are running in place.
Brunell’s 48.1 passer rating is the second worst among probable NFL starting quarterbacks. Only Chicago’s Rex Grossman (48.0) is worse, and 21 quarterbacks have ratings higher than 84.0. The Redskins’ offense ranks last in points (17), 28th in yards (239.7), 31st in rushing (62.7), 21st in passing (177.0) and 30th in first downs (38).
“There were a lot of things that we could’ve done that we didn’t do, but we can’t get too bent out of shape about it,” receiver Antwaan Randle El said. “I’m not sure [that] we haven’t clicked because we’ve made some plays. It’s one [missed] block here, one dropped pass here, one overthrow here. It’s not anything anybody’s doing to us. It’s what we’re doing to ourselves.”
Randle El was on a Pittsburgh offense last year that had no touchdowns in the preseason. The Steelers won the Super Bowl.
“We came out, and it was bombs away in the first few games,” he said. “It’s the preseason. We’ll get it going when the time is right.”
With the starters in the game, the Redskins have only seven plays that have gained 10 or more yards and none longer than 28 yards.
Brunell played 13 snaps apiece in the first two preseason games and played 32 snaps against New England.
“In hindsight, we would have liked to have Mark play more,” associate head coach Al Saunders said. “Last year, he played over 30 snaps in every preseason game, and it would have been nice to get him that kind of time. But he’ll be ready to go.”
Saunders said he is “not at all” tempted to play the starters longer against Baltimore. If Brunell is limited to a series or two against the Ravens, the Patriots game will stand as his only significant action of August.
“We took some good things out of the game,” Brunell said of the 41-0 loss. “We made progress, maybe not as much as we would have liked, but it was progress. A lot has been made about going in vanilla and basic, but that’s what we’ve done around here the last couple years. Regardless of the play call and what’s being run, we need to execute. It’s not a matter of what we’re doing it, but how we’re doing it. We should have been better the other night, and I believe we will be better.
“Whether it’s one series or one quarter [against Baltimore], we’ll take whatever they give us and understand that we have to execute and move the ball down the field. I would love to score some touchdowns and move the ball and be more consistent. That would be really nice to finish the preseason the right way. Regardless of how much time we get, we’ll be ready for the opener.”
Brunell said he’s getting more comfortable with newcomers Randle El and Brandon Lloyd each week.
“The more we’re out there and the more we learn about each other, the more comfortable we all get,” Brunell said. “They’re going to be a huge asset to our team.”
The team’s No. 1 receiver, Santana Moss, isn’t as much concerned about the last three games and Thursday as much as he is about Minnesota.
“Honestly, for me, I could care less about what goes on in the preseason,” he said. “The only thing I care about is being there for Day One. True, we want to get some things done, but the only thing I use this for is to get the feeling of guys [hitting] me.”
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