1. GETTING OFFENSIVE
Washington’s starting offense has had 12 possessions this preseason and has yet to score. New associate head coach-offense Al Saunders says he has shown just a sliver of his massive playbook, but some signs of life would be a confidence-booster. Mark Brunell is rated 31st among the NFL’s 32 starting QBs and has produced just 10 first downs in those 12 series.
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2. BLITZING
Like Saunders, defensive boss Gregg Williams maintains that he has called a very vanilla game this preseason. However, the Redskins have blitzed regularly, and Patriots QB Tom Brady kept making them look foolish in last week’s 41-0 rout. Not having No. 1 cornerback Shawn Springs, top defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin and Phillip Daniels, last year’s leading pass rusher, really hurts the defense when it gambles.
3. PASS-BLOCKING
The starting offensive linemen, four of whom had offseason surgeries, shined against the Bengals. However, right tackle Jon Jansen was hurdled for a sack against the Jets and then he, left tackle Chris Samuels and center Casey Rabach were all beaten at New England. The backups were solid against the Jets but were under siege in the other two games. Only six teams have allowed more sacks this summer than the Redskins (10).
4. JUST FOR KICKS
Punter Derrick Frost, who had a shaky Redskins debut in 2005, hasn’t improved this summer. If Frost doesn’t boom the ball tonight, he could well be replaced this weekend. After missing 14 games the past two years with a series of leg injuries, kicker John Hall is healthy. However, Hall has tried just two field goals in preseason, hitting from 38 yards and having a 43-yarder blocked. He could use a long field goal.
5. BUBBLE BOYS
Teams used to be down to 65 players at this point. The NFL raised that number to 75 this year, meaning twice as many players are on the bubble. So tonight’s game is critical for such players as cornerbacks Julian Battle and Mike Rumph, safety Vernon Fox, offensive tackles Spencer Folau, Jim Molinaro and Tyson Walter, defensive tackle Ryan Boschetti, wide receiver Jimmy Farris and linebacker Jeff Posey — all of whom are ineligible for the practice squad.
— David Elfin
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