Redskins still going south

ATLANTA | Barely able to complete his three-step drop-back before being pounded into the turf by 559 pounds of John Abraham and Jonathan Babineaux, Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell finally showed the effects of a five-sack beating.

A player who normally pops up regardless of the violence of a hit, Campbell stayed on his knees with his hands planted into the ground for balance, gasping for breath made more difficult by his latest injury - a chest contusion.

Nothing epitomizes the first half of this woeful Redskins’ season better than Campbell’s prone position.

The Redskins are struggling to breathe, much less run, after their latest setback, a 31-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday at the Georgia Dome.

Washington is 2-6 for the first time in owner Dan Snyder’s 11-season tenure, and its fourth straight defeat had the usual elements: a slow start (down 24-3 at halftime), costly penalties (88 yards), bad pass protection (five sacks) and key injuries (Campbell left twice, and Clinton Portis’ concussion kept him out after the first quarter).

“I don’t know where you go from here,” defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth said. “I guess you go up - that’s the only place to go. … If I keep looking back, I’ll get even more mad, discouraged, disappointed, whatever. Hopefully, things will go up for us. We have some problems with things.”

A franchise semi-accustomed recently to fast starts will need the second half of all second halves even to sniff the playoffs, much less respectability. It’s possible the Redskins won’t be favored in any of their final eight games.

Since starting 6-2 last year, the Redskins have lost 12 of 16 games, including seven straight on the road.

Touchdowns by Ladell Betts (1-yard run) and Todd Yoder (3-yard catch) on the opening two second-half drives pulled the Redskins within 24-17. Atlanta sealed the game on Michael Turner’s 58-yard touchdown run with 11:23 remaining.

“It’s a 60-minute game,” coach Jim Zorn said. “We can’t wait until halftime.”

The first half was equal parts expected and disappointing for the Redskins.

Expected: Atlanta led 24-3; opponents have a 103-36 first-half advantage over the Redskins. The Falcons also got to Campbell for five sacks.

“This one was horrible in the first half on offense,” Zorn said.

Disappointing: The Redskins had as many first-half penalty yards as yards of offense (69). Haynesworth jumped offside on the opening possession to keep an Atlanta drive alive; tight end Fred Davis had a pass go through his hands that led to Tye Hill’s interception return for a touchdown; and LaRon Landry hit Matt Ryan out of bounds, starting a melee on the Falcons’ sideline. Cornerback DeAngelo Hall engaged with several players and coach Mike Smith before being pulled away.

“We weren’t very disciplined in the first half and lost our poise in some situations,” linebacker London Fletcher said.

The halftime locker room was intense for the Redskins. Staring at the possibility of a blowout defeat, some players answered the call.

Zorn said offensive line coach Joe Bugel was critical of his charges for protection errors and a lack of seams in the running game.

“Those five times, it was us plainly getting beat,” Zorn said. “It was the whole protection group, not just the offensive line. … In the second half, you saw our run game take off, and that really sparked us and some of the passes were good.”

Using a 13-play, 80-yard drive and a 13-play, 81-yard drive sandwiched around an Atlanta three-and-out, the Redskins cut the deficit to a touchdown with 13:05 remaining when a scrambling Campbell hit Yoder in the back of the end zone.

Betts gave a lift to the running game, carrying 15 times for 70 yards and showing some of the burst that has been lacking from Portis (four carries, 4 yards).

The Redskins’ passing game, however, was compromised by the lack of protection. Instead of trying to throw deep with five- and seven-step drops, the coaching staff implemented a quicker passer game that allowed Campbell to get the ball out of his hands. Campbell was 15-for-22 for 196 yards.

“It’s a tough game, it’s a hard game and I say, ’So what? You have to get up,’ ” Zorn said. “Tough guys have to be there, and I thought he did a really good job.”

The Redskins needed one stop to really make things interesting, but they again couldn’t sustain the momentum.

Three plays after Yoder’s touchdown, Turner sprinted through the Redskins and over Landry for his second score. Turner finished with 18 rushes for 166 yards.

“You don’t give [the offense] a chance to tie it if you’re not going to do the basic stuff, and that’s tackle,” secondary coach Jerry Gray said.

With four more games coming up against teams that currently have a winning record, the Redskins face an unfamiliar spot - pretty much out of it with eight games to go.

“You have to keep working hard,” Fletcher said. “That’s the only thing I know how to do - keep preparing to win a football game and then go out and play hard, be more disciplined, communicate better and do everything better.”