SPORTS INSIDE: Capitals not satisfied despite unbeaten start. Week 6 in the NFL. C1, C3 | LIFE: C10 ●Slow start dooms defense in ugly game. R2 Week 6 ●Lichtensteiger injury throws line into disarray. R3 Eagles 20, Redskins 13 MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2011 washingtontimes.com/sports/football SECTION R

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREW HARNIK/THE WASHINGTON TIMES ABOVE: Redskins is slow to get up after being sacked for an 8-yard loss during the second quarter. Grossman completed just 9 of 22 passes for 143 yards. BELOW: Eagles safety Kurt INColeman pockets one of Grossman’s WITH four on a pass intended for Fred Davis. THE NEW Beck takes over at QB after Grossman is benched for tossing four interceptions

BY RICH CAMPBELL quarter of the Redskins’ 20-13 loss to the Philadel- THE WASHINGTON TIMES phia Eagles Sunday at FedEx Field. “We needed a spark,” Shanahan said. “John has John Beck personified hope for the Washing- been practicing very well the last couple weeks, ton Redskins at the beginning of the summer. He and with four turnovers there, we thought it was was an unknown quantity, an intriguing prospect time to make a change and give John an oppor- on an overhauled roster. tunity to show what he could do.” His arm strength and athleticism drew praise Shanahan wouldn’t immediately commit to a from coach , assistant coaches starter following his team’s second straight loss and teammates. Throw in his willingness to to an NFC East opponent. “Make a decision make time for anyone with a camera or micro- Wednesday,” he said. phone, and there was so much to like. Instead of burying the consensus preseason Rex Grossman? Pfft. Everyone knew his rep- favorite, (2-4) resuscitated its sea- utation for turning the ball over. Beck had to be son at Washington’s expense. better than that alternative, right? Right?! But The stats portray a Redskins team with a sig- without a start since 2007, he remained a mys- nificant chasm between it and true playoff con- tery. tenders. They were outgained by 135 yards. They Seven weeks into the season, we might finally converted only 1 of 10 third downs. They com- learn the answer. Shanahan this week will decide mitted nine penalties for 75 yards. whether to start Beck after Grossman threw four interceptions and was benched in the fourth » see REDSKINS | R3 Too many turnovers came at too crucial a position e knew this day was com- there for . . . has it really been two ing, didn’t we, Washington decades? Naming their umpteen start- Redskins fans? Sooner or ing since their last Super later, Mike Shanahan was Bowl has become a parlor game, and Wgoing to get sick and tired of Rex doing it in chronological order (Mark Grossman being Rex Grossman — just Rypien, Cary Conklin, as, last December, he got sick and tired . . .) should earn you a Jack Kent Cooke of Donovan McNabb being Donovan scholarship, or at least a free topping McNabb. on your next Papa John’s pizza. As it turns out, it happened sooner In the wake of an ugly 20-13 loss to — in Game 5, coming off a bye week. DAN the Eagles at FedEx Field, it looks to be After Grossman threw his fourth inter- DALY Beck’s turn at the offensive wheel. Or ception Sunday (and third to Philadel- rather, it had better be Beck’s turn. phia Eagles strong safety Kurt Cole- Grossman is, after all, what we thought man), Shanahan could take it no longer. he was: a serviceable backup quarter- In went John Beck, the 30-year-old mystery back. Hand him the starting job, though, and man; out went Rex, about whom Redskins Na- you get passer ratings of 74.1, 75.6, 48.5 and now tion knows far too much. 23.7 in consecutive games. And with that, the Washington quarterback It’s hard to win with that kind of quarter- carousel began spinning again — like a Six Flags backing, with Rex (nine INTs, two ) ROD LAMKEY JR./THE WASHINGTON TIMES ride, if you’ll pardon the expression. It’s the turning the ball over a couple of times a week. After coming into the game for an ineffective Rex Grossman, quarterback John Beck capped the most important position on the field, the QB Redskins’ only drive with a 2-yard run. spot, but the Redskins haven’t much stability » see DALY | R2 EXPANDED REDSKINS COVERAGE: WASHINGTONTIMES.COM/SPORTS/FOOTBALL R2 | REDSKINS ଁ MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2011 A TOUGH ONE TO WATCH AT FEDEX FIELD

ANDREW HARNIK/THE WASHINGTON TIMES Redskins fans react to a 20-13 loss to the NFC East rival on Sunday in Landover. Washington fell behind by 20 points, then saw its rally come up short after John Beck took over for Rex Grossman.

DALY Defense doomed by slow start From page R1 The Redskins are fortunate to be 3-2 and still in the NFC oming off the bye today. But it could’ve been a lot worse. It said. “It was more of an attitude and emo- East hunt. The time has come to give the Other Guy a shot. week, facing a des- could’ve gotten even uglier in the first half.” tional adjustment. Coming in off the bye Besides, the Other Guy has mobility that Grossman Cperate team with a It was plenty ugly as it was, with the Ea- week, we may have come into the game flat. lacks, and that could come in handy considering the state of dangerous offense, Wash- gles producing four consecutive scoring We didn’t start as intense as the defense the offensive line. blew out his right ington’s defense opened drives, each at least eight plays. There were normally does. That can hurt you against knee against Philly, and suffered a high right Sunday’s game in the three lengthy marches (82, 72 and 69 yards) this team, which is very powerful offen- ankle sprain. So, assuming Williams is out a while, the quar- worst possible fashion — and a short-fielder (41 yards). Washington’s sively.” terback’s blind side figures to be protected — for the short flat and lax. saving grace was tightening up in the red Especially when your own offense can’t term, anyway — by Erik Cooke and Sean Locklear. In that Actually, that’s not zone and holding Philly to field goals on the match that firepower. With Grossman strug- situation, it’s better to have Beck (and his wheels) at QB true. The Redskins held last two. gling to complete more passes to teammates than a sitting-duck type like Grossman. DERON Philadelphia to a three- The Redskins were keeping Philly from instead of defenders, and a running game Shanahan wouldn’t commit to anything, of course. “I SNYDER and-out on the game’s its customary explosive, big plays, but the ef- that failed to produce behind a banged-up would never announce [a quarterback change] right after a first possession. fect was maddening. It was like a new ver- line, the defense was on the field for all but game,” he said. But if common sense holds any sway at Red- But for the rest of half, sion of “Old McDonald,” a dink, dink here 8 minutes, 22 seconds before intermission. skins Park, Beck will be the starter Sunday at Carolina. He the Eagles drove the field like it was their and a dink, dink there. Essentially that was Unfortunately, the lethargic effort on one just has to be. personal HOV lane. And that was enough to Washington’s game plan, but not to that ex- side appeared to affect the other. Listening to Grossman explain his four picks against the secure a 20-13 victory in a must-win game tent. “It seemed like a chain effect,” Cofield Eagles was like one watching of those “Law and Order” for them, as opposed to a woulda-been-nice “The short to medium stuff kept adding said. “The defense was struggling and the scenes where they hand the accused a pad of paper and say, win for Washington. up,” said. “It was offense was struggling, and it shouldn’t be “Here, write down a confession. You’ll feel better.” Gross- Picking on the defense is difficult when it getting a little frustrating because they have like that. We should be two separate entities man didn’t sound too disturbed about the first one, which yields a mere 20 points, none after intermis- such big-time receivers and on film they no matter what’s happening on the other came on third-and-16 at the Philadelphia 38, because it sion. But it’s responsible for the heavy lifting usually throw it down the field.” side of the ball. We have to feel like one big functioned essentially as a punt. (The Eagles would have if Washington is to be successful. No one re- Well, it’s hard to throw downfield when play can change the whole momentum.” started at their 3-yard line if Williams hadn’t been drawn a ally expected Rex Grossman to carry the the give more cushion than a They nearly pulled it off. A third-quarter personal-foul penalty after the play.) And No. load, a weight he dropped with a thud Sun- Serta Perfect Sleeper. If they played back interception by Atogwe at the 1-yard line 3, he suggested, might have been the result of some ragged day. The Redskins aren’t built to come from any farther they would’ve been in the third kept the deficit at 20-6, but the Redskins route running by Fred Davis. behind, and a bad start on defense immedi- row. Vick completed 12 of 20 passes for 141 failed to capitalize. On the next defensive se- But that still leaves picks No. 2 (“I just didn’t throw it far ately puts victory in peril. yards in the first half, as four of his receivers ries, DeAngelo Hall picked off enough to the sideline”) and No. 4 (“I thought Jabar Such was the case against the Eagles. We averaged at least 10 yards per reception. — replacing a dazed Vick — to [Gaffney] was coming back for the ball, and the defender should be celebrating the defense’s re- Contrast that to the second half, when set up Washington at the Eagles’ 18-yard line. was”). Even two are too many. siliency, the way it rebounded and pitched a Vick was held to 96 yards passing, with 59 Alas, that opportunity was lost when Not everything can be blamed on Grossman. The Red- second-half shutout. Instead, the focus shifts coming on a completion to . Grossman threw his third interception of the skins, after a week off, were out of sync on both sides of the to the first 30 minutes that virtually decided Those were the types of plays Washing- afternoon. ball and fell behind 20-0 before rallying. On one play, the the game. ton feared most, but it was the short stuff “Those [takeaways] are things when you normally nimble Santana Moss simply tripped and fell “We responded well in the second half, that made a difference in the end. The de- win, you look back and say that’s why you while running downfield. All their penalties, moreover — but realistically 20 points is 20 points,” nose fense did a great job overall in the final 30 won the game,” Cofield said. “But when you nine total — indicated a certain rustiness, too. It looked tackle Barry Cofield said. “Whether they minutes, once it realized that the bye week lose, you focus on the negatives.” more like the first day of minicamp than the first day of the score 20 points in the first quarter doesn’t ended at 1 p.m. Ultimately, there were 30 negatives for serious part (that is, the post-bye-week part) of the NFL matter. That’s too much. It’s not the goal we “We didn’t make adjustments on many the Redskins’ defense: one for every minute season. set for ourselves, and we came up short assignments,” safety of the first half. Whether Beck can get the offense functioning smoothly is an open question. He’s pretty much a blank slate, a five- year “veteran” who, until Grossman ran aground, hadn’t played in a regular-season game since 2007, when he was a rookie in Miami. His arm doesn’t wow you, and his play against the Eagles (8 of 15 for 117 yards) didn’t dazzle; it was merely adequate. (It was nothing, for instance, like the off- the-bench debuts of and in years past.) At one point, Beck actually knocked the ball out of his own hand while attempting to pass. (Fortunately for the Redskins, he recovered the .) But he also directed two nice drives in his quarter of action — the first of which reached the Philadelphia 26 before it was undone by a hold- ing penalty, the second of which, an 80-yard garbage-time special, produced the only Washington touchdown (one that came on his own quarterback draw). With so little to go on, you can’t jump to too many con- clusions. What you can say is that Beck moved well in the pocket and seemed to get a good view of the field. The lat- ter appeared to be a problem with Grossman, who always was throwing over linemen (and getting balls batted down) or failing to notice lurking defensive backs and . Still, Beck would be a roll of the dice for Shanahan, just as Grossman was. And that’s not the greatest position for a coach to be in, not in the second year of a rebuilding proj- ect. But this is where the Redskins are — on the verge, quite possibly, of replacing one backup-quality starting quarter- ROD LAMKEY JR./THE WASHINGTON TIMES back with what could be another. Not that they haven’t Eagles running back LeSean McCoy finds a hole in the Redskins’ defense and scores on a 1-yard run. McCoy finished with 126 yards rushing. been here before, too many times to count. EXPANDED REDSKINS COVERAGE: WASHINGTONTIMES.COM/SPORTS/FOOTBALL MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2011 ଁ REDSKINS | R3

EAGLES 20, REDSKINS 13 Lichtensteiger likely sidelined for the season Offensive lineman suffers extensive damage to knee on team’s first series

BY NATHAN FENNO game. The injuries pushed THE WASHINGTON TIMES and Sean Locklear into action, moved Montgomery from center to left guard Perched awkwardly on a folding and used up what little offensive line chair, Kory Lichtensteiger tugged a depth the Redskins owned. black sock onto his right foot. Williams — who mumbled off his His face was red. A pair of crutches own injury with a half-hearted “I’m leaned on his locker at FedEx Field. His fine” — blamed Eagles’ right leg, bent at the knee, was frozen Daryl Tapp for Lichtensteiger’s dam- in place. The simple act of pulling on a aged knee. After the play, Williams sock looked agonizing for the Washing- drew a personal foul for his involve- ton Redskins left guard. ment in an altercation. A hit away from the Two plays earlier he was football on the Redskins’ “This is called for holding, too. fourth offensive play definitely “[Tapp] just kind of against the Philadelphia the worst grabbed him and threw Eagles on Sunday likely him down,” Williams ended Lichtensteiger’s moment in said. “The ref looked right season, infuriated team- my football at it. He failed to make the mates and pushed the career to date. call. It was a dirty play to team’s offensive line into I felt the whole begin with. It was like 30 disarray. That the Eagles yards away.” won only accentuated the thing go.” Montgomery and discomfort. ---- Kory Lichtensteiger Cook didn’t see the play. “This is definitely the Lichtensteiger, in obvious ANDREW HARNIK/THE WASHINGTON TIMES worst moment in my discomfort, spoke briefly Redskins offensive lineman Kory Lichtensteiger is tended to after suffering a knee injury during the first quarter against football career to date,” Lichtensteiger before a member of the Redskins pub- Philadelphia. Teammate said Lichtensteiger tore his ACL and MCL. said, his voice thick with pain and emo- lic relations staff helped him out of the tion. “I felt the whole thing go. . . . It was locker room. jogged into his first regular-season 16 games last season for the Seattle ries. instantaneous.” “He’s doing as good as you can after game. Seahawks, completed the patchwork “It seemed like we just couldn’t get Fellow lineman Will Montgomery something like this,” said Montgomery, When John Beck replaced Rex line. And there was no alternative to into that rhythm for one reason or an- confirmed Lichtensteiger tore the an- who regularly golfed and worked out Grossman at quarterback, Cook had Cook gutting out the game, no matter other. I don’t know why,” Montgomery terior cruciate and medial collateral with Lichtensteiger during the offsea- the familiarity of working with him on the condition of his calf. The only other said. “It’s a little bit off. Guys are drop- ligaments in his right knee. Lichten- son. “But he’s pretty bummed.” the scout team. offensive lineman on the 53-man roster ping like flies. I’m not going to use that steiger will miss the remainder of the Even Cook wasn’t healthy, after he Aside from one false start, Cook ap- is Willie Smith, a rookie from East Car- as an excuse. It sucks today, right now. season, a source said. strained his calf during pregame warm- peared calm. olina who was inactive on Sunday. Lichtensteiger understands. Face Nearby, second-year left tackle Trent ups and wasn’t supposed to play. But the “I was excited, nervous, every em- The line’s sudden turnover could still red, the lineman heaved himself up Williams hobbled with a high right seventh-round pick by the Redskins in tion possible,” Cook said. have been blamed, in part, for a running from the chair, wedged crutches under ankle sprain that knocked him out of the 2010 took pulled in a deep breath, then Locklear, the tackle who started 15 of game that managed 42 yards on 14 car- his arms and scooted away.

EAGLES 20, REDSKINS 13 REDSKINS Philadelphia 7 13 0 0 — 20 From page R1 Washington 0 3 3 7 — 13 The Redskins (3-2) averaged 3.0 First Quarter yards on 14 rushes against a defense that Phi–Celek 7 pass from Vick (Henery kick), 6:50. entered the game giving up 5.0 yards Second Quarter per carry. Philadelphia held the ball for Phi–McCoy 1 run (Henery kick), 14:15. 16 minutes longer than Washington Phi–FG Henery 28, 6:58. Phi–FG Henery 24, 2:27. did. Was–FG Gano 50, :30. Instead of defending home turf Third Quarter against a reeling rival and establishing Was–FG Gano 26, 12:40. some clout in first place, the Redskins finished the day in second after New Fourth Quarter Was–Beck 2 run (Gano kick), 2:44. York won. “It’s very tough, very disappoint- A–80,447. ing,” defensive end Adam Carriker said. Phi Was All the positive vibes from the Red- First downs ...... 22 17 Total Net Yards ...... 422 287 skins’ hot start vanished in a sobering Rushes-yards...... 38-192 14-42 reality check. Their good luck regard- Passing ...... 230 245 ing injuries turned. Left guard Kory Punt Returns ...... 0-0 2-4 Lichtensteiger was lost for the season Kickoff Returns ...... 0-0 5-149 Interceptions Ret...... 4-38 2-5 with ligament tears in his right knee. Comp-Att-Int ...... 18-32-2 17-37-4 Left tackle Trent Williams left the game Sacked-Yards Lost ...... 2-7 2-15 with a high right ankle sprain. And Punts...... 3-43.7 4-42.5 tight end Chris Cooley suffered a left Fumbles-Lost ...... 0-0 2-0 hand fracture that will require surgery. Penalties-Yards ...... 8-60 9-75 Time of Possession . . . . 38:08 21:52 Adding insult to those injuries is a fresh round of uncertainty at quarter- Leaders ANDREW HARNKIK/THE WASHINGTON TIMES back. RUSHING—Philadelphia, McCoy 28-126, Vick Redskins linebackers Rocky McIntosh (52) and Brian Orakpo react in the end zone after McIntosh was flagged for roughing Beck’s uneven play in the preseason 7-54, Lewis 2-10, Young 1-2. Washington, Torain 10-22, Beck 2-14, Helu 2-6. the passer during the first quarter. cost him the competition against Gross- man for the starting job. Over Labor PASSING—Philadelphia, Vick 18-31-1-237, Young 0-1-1-0. Washington, Grossman 9-22- EAGLES 20, REDSKINS 13 Day weekend, he went from being a 4-143, Beck 8-15-0-117. central focus to an anonymous backup. RECEIVING—Philadelphia, Maclin 5-101, Grossman, however, brought the cycle Celek 4-42, D.Jackson 3-46, Avant 3-28, full-circle with four interceptions. McCoy 2-13, Smith 1-7. Washington, Davis Roughing the passer a tough call “We didn’t take advantage of the op- 6-95, Stallworth 3-30, Gaffney 2-55, Moss portunities that were given to us as an 2-38, Helu 2-11, Austin 1-32, Cooley 1- offense,” Grossman said. “We didn’t (minus 1). Field position, opportunity lost after penalty for hit on Vick execute. I didn’t execute.” MISSED FIELD GOALS—None. The most damaging was pick No. 3. BY STEPHEN WHYNO lose that type of field position on that down in the second half, something The Redskins trailed 20-6 with 6 min- team since then. THE WASHINGTON TIMES kind of penalty, it hurts.” Cofield attributed to halftime adjust- utes, 38 seconds remaining in the third “A handful of weeks of being in on Orakpo said it didn’t matter whether ments by defensive coordinator Jim quarter. Despite being dominated, they meetings, being out at practice, I tried knew he was in trou- the call was on him or McIntosh but in- Haslett. still had a chance. DeAngelo Hall’s in- to visually get as much as I could from ble. The snap flew over his head and he sisted it didn’t change the way he played “We just made less mistakes. We terception had just given Washington practice, standing in a position where was scrambling back into the end zone. the rest of the game. were opportunistic. And that’s what possession at the Eagles’ 18-yard line. my eyes could get reps, just trying to do This was just Philadelphia’s second “You just got to stay aggressive,” he you have to do against this offense,” he After an unsuccessful running play, what I could if this did happen,” Beck drive, and Washington Redskins line- said. “You know they’re going to protect said. “They’ve got big-play capabilities. Grossman tried to find tight end Fred said. backers Brian Orakpo and Rocky McIn- the quarterbacks.” But then they’ve got to line up and snap Davis near the goal line. “To be honest, I don’t know if I felt tosh already were converging on him. In this case, protecting Vick proved it again, and hopefully they’ll make a “I trusted that [Davis] was going to a great rhythm because of the way the “It started out as a disaster,” the Ea- costly for the Redskins, who forced mistake. And if you don’t capitalize, it’s be able to cross the safety’s face on his game had gone, and we were trying to gles’ quarterback said. “When you have Philadelphia into a three-and-out on the going to be a long day for you.” route,” Grossman said. “I’m not sure claw for what we could.” Orakpo coming down your barrel, you first drive of the game. It was a long day, however, that what happened, but he wasn’t able to. Beck impressed some of his team- know you’re about to take one.” But after the Redskins couldn’t take started getting long with the roughing The safety stepped up in front.” mates with how he played after com- Vick took one after he sent the ball advantage of a frazzled Vick and took the passer call. Orakpo didn’t want to Shanahan gave Grossman another ing in cold. soaring out of bounds. The problem for the penalty, he, LeSean McCoy and the comment on the validity of the penalty, chance. The outcome was the same. In- “For John to be in mentally, you the Redskins is that a flag came in — not Eagles marched down the field to take and McIntosh simply walked away from terception — Grossman’s ninth of the have to give him kudos because he was for intentional grounding but for rough- a 7-0 lead. reporters in the locker room. season. able to come in and give us spark and ing the passer. The penalty called on “He just kept dinking and dunking This was an especially difficult sit- Beck came in and managed one keep his composure without him being McIntosh for a late hit (that also could down the field. That’s what kind of uation with Vick, as Cofield likened hit- touchdown drive, running it in himself in for the last six weeks,” receiver Donte have been on Orakpo for hitting Vick in negated us trying to get to him and ting the quarterback’s small frame to a from 2 yards. He finished 8 of 15 pass- Stallworth said. the helmet) gave the Eagles a first down make big plays,” Orakpo said. “He just pitcher getting squeezed by a small ing for 117 yards and a of Now it’s up to Shanahan to decide at their 31-yard line. stepped out, kept throwing quick plays, strike zone. And as much as the veteran 79.0. He completed several passes by whether Beck is ready to take over per- “I didn’t think it would turn out to quick plays. We had to settle down. We nose tackle wasn’t a fan of the call, he maintaining quality mechanics under manently. Since languishing in the pre- be a 15-yard penalty on them,” Vick ad- had to settle down, and we had to rally recognizes that if referees are going to pressure. season finale, Beck has had another six mitted. “I think the ref made the call be- to wherever he was throwing the ball.” provide quarterbacks with that kind of Those snaps were his first with the weeks to learn. Will that produce a cause he knew I was trying to get the That certainly didn’t happen on that protection, he and his teammates must first-team offense since the preseason. significant improvement? ball out of my hands and out of bounds.” drive, or the Eagles’ next one, which adjust. He practiced exclusively with the scout The Redskins can only hope. The Redskins weren’t big fans of the made it 14-0 very early in the second “I think they’re watching his back call, and nose tackle Barry Cofield said quarter. Meanwhile, Rex Grossman was now, because of all the hits he’s taken that it was the turning point of the in the process of throwing four inter- all season,” Cofield said. “The only “We didn’t take advantage of the opportunities game. ceptions, and the offense managed just thing we can do is correct it. If they’re that were given to us as an offense. We didn’t “I think it was. It was tough,” Cofield six points until a late effort by John going to make that call, we’ve got to execute. I didn’t execute.” said. “We had a lot of other opportuni- Beck. come low, we’ve got to hit him low or ties later on in the game. But when you The Redskins’ defense did settle we’ve got to pull off.” ---- Rex Grossman EXPANDED REDSKINS COVERAGE: WASHINGTONTIMES.COM/SPORTS/FOOTBALL R4 | REDSKINS R MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2011

REDSKINS SCHEDULE EAGLES 20, REDSKINS 13: QUARTER-BY-QUARTER WEEK 1

vs. Giants W, 28-14 WEEK 2

vs. Cardinals W, 22-21 WEEK 3

at Cowboys ANDREW HARNIK/THE WASHINGTON TIMES ROD LAMKEY JR./THE WASHINGTON TIMES L, 18-16 FIRST QUARTER: Redskins Brian Orakpo (98) and Rocky McIntosh react with dismay after SECOND QUARTER: Eagles safety gathers in a deep pass intended for Redskins WEEK 4 McIntosh was flagged for roughing the passer. receiver Jabar Gaffney, one of four interceptions thrown by Rex Grossman.

at Rams W, 17-10 WEEK 6

vs. Eagles L, 20-13 WEEK 7

at Panthers Sun., Oct. 23 ROD LAMKEY JR../THE WASHINGTON TIMES ANDREW HARNIK/THE WASHINGTON TIMES WEEK 8 THIRD QUARTER: Redskins safety Oshiomogho Atogwe intercepts a pass intended for FOURTH QUARTER: Redskins quarterback John Beck, making his first regular-season Eagles receiver Jason Avant on the 1-yard line. appearance since 2007, scored on a 2-yard touchdown run.

Washington’s first Perhaps the most It was a much better The last was the best possession ended in amazing thing at KEY PLAY quarter for the Redskins quarter of the day for at Bills (Toronto) 1 an interception. The 2 halftime is that the 3 in many respects, but 4 the Redskins, and Sun., Oct. 30 second was three-and- Redskins weren’t behind he game wasn’t that’s all relative because certainly one that will out. The Redskins ran all of seven by a lot more than 20-3. They had four minutes old it really wasn’t all that good. Sure, create some conversation because WEEK 9 plays in the period and were the ball for only 8:22 in the first half. when Philadel- the Redskins moved the ball some. it created a quarterback question. outgained 143-23. No surprise they In the first 12 1/2 minutes of the phia faced a sec- Sure, they kept the Eagles from Washington replaced Grossman fell behind 14-0 just two plays into second quarter, they were outgained ond-and-12T from its own scoring —and intercepted two with Beck and, for starters, Beck the second quarter. And one play 106-9. Grossman threw another 16. The shotgun snap passes. But they only cut the deficit didn’t complete any passes to the was huge in all of that. interception. The Eagles were on went awry. Michael Vick by three, thanks to a Gano field goal Eagles. He did complete 8 of 15 vs. 49ers Early in the quarter, the Eagles their way to a 250-yard half. scrambled to recover it early in the quarter. overall and was 5 of 8 during an Sun., Nov. 6 made a bad snap out of the shotgun But after that early second- and tossed it away while A big reason why they didn’t 80-yard drive that produced the on second-and-12 from their own 16. quarter touchdown, the Eagles in the end zone. Ground- score more? Grossman threw two Redskins’ only touchdown of the WEEK 10 Michael Vick picked up the ball and couldn’t get into the end zone. They ing? Nope. There was a more interceptions, both to Kurt day. Who scored? It was Beck, hurredly got rid of it from the end had to settle for two field goals. And flag, but it was for rough- Coleman. Yeah, the same Coleman running it in from 2 yards out to get zone. A flag flew? Grounding? Nope. the Redskins, despite giving up a ing the passer on Rocky who also had a “pick” in the first half. the Redskins within seven points The Redskins’ Rocky McIntosh was huge sack on third down very late in McIntosh. Instead of Grossman’s four interceptions after Gano’s conversion kick. flagged for roughing the passer and the half, found some magic dust in third-and-12 (or worse through the first three quarters were Alas, the defense couldn’t get the at Dolphins the Eagles’ bad situation became a kicker Graham Gano, who hit a 50- with grounding), the Ea- only one fewer than he had in the ball back. The unit didn’t allow the Sun., Nov. 13 first down at the 31. They moved it yard field goal with 30 seconds left gles had a first down on previous four games. Eagles a point in the second half but all the way down the field, scoring on to get Washington on the board and the 31. They went down Coleman, meanwhile, saw his couldn’t make a stop on the final WEEK 11 a 7-yard pass from Vick to tight end keep the Eagles at least within and scored. Who knows career interception total rise from drive to give Beck a shot at being an . sight. what might have hap- one to four thanks to his handiwork end-game hero. As it is, Redskins LeSean McCoy scored the Grossman completed six passes pened without the with Grossman’s passes. coach Mike Shanahan will have to Eagles’ second touchdown, which is in the half. Four went to Fred Davis. penalty, but the flag likely The really good news for face many questions in the coming officially a second-quarter score but Santana Moss was held without a salvaged the drive that Redskins fans is Grossman’s pick week about who is now the Skins’ vs. Cowboys ought to count against the Redskins’ catch. The Redskins’ total on the set the tone for the game. total couldn’t grow, as John Beck quarterback. Stay tuned, it promises Sun., Nov. 20 awful first quarter. ground for the half? Nineteen yards. came in for the final quarter. to be interesting. WEEK 12 REDSKINS NOTES WEEK 7 REDSKINS AT PANTHERS at Seahawks Cooley ‘frustrated’ by his latest injury Sun., Nov. 27

WEEK 13 BY THE NUMBERS BY STEPHEN WHYNO confident in. And that’s not to say as I did in the past, and I was just THE WASHINGTON TIMES anything bad about Logan blessed and fortunate to be in a po- 3: Interceptions by the Eagles’ [Paulsen] — he just didn’t practice sition to make the play,” Atogwe Kickoff: 1 p.m. TV: Fox , who had one Chris Cooley caught the ball on this week, as far as the tight end said. Radio: AM-980, FM-92.7, career pick coming into the a short play in the open field in the spot goes.” Like so many other times FM-94.3 vs. Jets first quarter. Unfortunately for This is just the latest injury set- against Philadelphia, the Redskins What to watch: Washington Sun., Dec. 4 game. He’s the first Eagle with him and the Redskins, it was his back for Cooley, who missed the were unable to make that turnover begins a stretch of three road three picks in a game since first and only catch of the day. preseason after offseason knee into points. games in four weeks against a WEEK 14 Joe Scapati against the New Eagles cornerback Nnamdi surgery, suffered a concussion in Carolina team that has new life York Giants in 1966. Asomugha crushed Cooley for a 2008 and broke an ankle in 2009. No work for Hightower with No. 1 overall pick Cam loss of a yard. What’s worse is that “Do I feel snake-bitten? No, I do Newton at quarterback. the collision ended the tight end’s not,” Cooley said. “The NFL is a A few weeks ago, Tim High- ● Newton entered Sunday’s 4: Interceptions thrown by day — and likely will keep him out league of injuries. I’ve been a little tower was the center of attention game against Atlanta on pace vs. Patriots Redskins quarterback Rex for a while. bit unfortunate, I guess in the last as he rushed for 96 yards at FedEx to throw for more than 5,000 Sun., Dec. 11 Grossman, who only threw Cooley suffered a broken left couple seasons. But no, I don’t feel Field in the Redskins’ win over the yards. He also is averaging about five through the season’s first index finger that will require sur- snake-bitten.” . Sunday, he was 4 yards per carry, showing the WEEK 15 gery, coach Mike Shanahan said. wearing a uniform and pads but athleticism that helped him win four games. It tied a single- There is no timetable for his re- Atogwe gets turnover was set to play only on an emer- the Heisman Trophy last year at game high for Grossman. turn. gency basis. Auburn. But Newton came down “I’m frustrated that I can’t keep When the Redskins went out Hightower, who was listed on to Earth on Sunday. He threw for 4 (again!) : Consecutive playing and that I can’t stay out and got Oshiomogho Atogwe, they the team’s injury report as ques- 237 yards and ran for a score, but at Giants seasons the Redskins have there for us,” said Cooley, who expected plenty of turnovers. In tionable with a shoulder injury, he was intercepted three times in Sun., Dec. 18 a 31-17 loss. lost coming out of their bye was instructed not to talk about his six seasons with the Rams, the did not see any action against the injury. “It just wasn’t an option.” safety had 22 interceptions. Eagles. ● Carolina’s defense, led by WEEK 16 week, with the past two to the When Cooley went out, the But through four games, “I’ve got to get healthy, man,” he defensive end Charles Johnson, Eagles. Before that stretch, Redskins were down 7-0 and didn’t Atogwe had yet to pick off a pass. said. has struggled during a 1-5 start. they’d won nine of their past manage any significant progress Defensive coordinator Falling behind early, the Red- 11 games after their in-season on offense until late, when John explained that a hamstring injury skins abandoned the running Cam Beck engineered a scoring drive. was hampering Atogwe’s game. game, as they only ran 14 times all Newton vs. Vikings break. And while fellow tight end Fred “So far this week, I think he’s fi- game. got the bulk of Sat., Dec. 24 Davis was the team’s leading re- nally breaking through that and the carries — 10 for 22 yards, while 18(th): Where Chris Cooley ceiver with six catches for 95 yards, he’s looking a lot better to me,” Roy Helu had the only other two WEEK 17 now stands alone on the Cooley lamented how the offense Haslett said last week. by a running back. all-time reception list for tight stagnated without him. Despite a toe problem, Atogwe Hightower, though, said not “I know our game plan finally broke through Sunday by playing Sunday was precautionary ends with 428 after his one changed quite a bit when I went intercepting Eagles quarterback and that he’s feeling better. catch (for -1 yard). He had out of the game,” Cooley said. “We Michael Vick at the Washington 1 “It was just a matter of resting at Eagles been tied with Mike Ditka. had a two-tight-end package that in the third quarter. up,” he said. “I’ll be good to go for Sun., Jan. 1 we practiced a lot and we felt very “I worked just as hard all week the rest of the season.” EXPANDED REDSKINS COVERAGE: WASHINGTONTIMES.COM/SPORTS/FOOTBALL