Blache Keeps Defensive Charges in Check

"When daddy is disappointed, you know; he doesn't have to say anything. I just feel like he pushes you physically and mentally, because he knows that that's how it's going to be on Sunday. So if you can take what he's dishing out during the week, you'll be able to start dishing out some of your own on Sunday. That's his mind-set, and we work really hard because we know it's going to pay off."

Blache knows too well how fleeting one's playing days can be and wants his players to maximize their playing time. Blache's own football hopes were dashed when a leg injury ended his on-field career at Notre Dame. The former defensive back went on to earn a master's degree in secondary education from Notre Dame and began his coaching career as a defensive assistant there in 1968, the first of nine stops. Through those years he earned a reputation as an unflinching competitor. "For being really even [keeled], he's got a spark to him," Gibbs said. "He can definitely handle himself." Getting a healthy group of linemen back has made Blache's job easier lately, he said. His top four -- Renaldo Wynn, Griffin, Salave'a and Daniels -- have reunited the past three games and created huge plays since, with Daniels the ringleader. Daniels, who played previously for Blache in Chicago and briefed his teammates on his bare-knuckled ways after signing here in March 2004, has six sacks the last three weeks.

"Greg does a great job of getting his guys healthy and a great job of how he keeps his finger on the pulse of how many reps they take in practice and the course of the ballgame," Williams said. "He's been in playoff hunts before and knows how we have to keep them fresh and get them back healthy, and we did. And once we got them back healthy the plan was to let the big dogs hunt, and the big dogs have been hunting very well."

Against Dallas, Daniels batted a pass up that Griffin intercepted to set up Washington's first score. Against New York his timely sack for an 11-yard loss eventually forced a field goal and helped preserve an eight-point lead. And Sunday he sacked and stripped Eagles quarterback Koy Detmer, with safety Sean Taylor returning the fumble for the final touchdown. In 2004, Daniels was never himself, suffering season-ending groin and wrist injuries, and only recently has he been the force Blache envisioned.

A commitment to fitness guided Daniels's ascent. He shed eight pounds, and for the last month has been wedded to a regimen of tablets, supplements, herbs, fiber and teas. Daniels said he will not reveal the specifics of the mixtures until after the season, but he is a firm believer in its results.

"I want it to be my secret for now," Daniels said. "But I feel a lot better, so much quicker. I've just been cleansing my body and I feel more energy, healthier. The injuries I had last year early in the season, they were still there, but now they're healing at the right time, and I'm making this push."

Even with his newfound glory, Daniels is very much a lunch-pail type. All of Washington's linemen have been unwanted someplace else -- several were never drafted and released elsewhere -- and none crave individual accolades. They were assembled in Blache's image, and with everything on the line, have made him proudest.

"I think the biggest thing is there are no egos on this D-line," said end Demetric Evans, who willingly took a pounding as a tackle when injuries arose.

"We don't have that 'star' player, so no one is bickering about getting sacks, and no one is bickering about getting one-on-one rushes. It's more of a team effort, and guys are still excelling in this system, and I think that means a lot not only to us, but to the coaching staff, and it shows what Greg has done to help build that kind of chemistry."