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For Redskins' Offense, Trouble Down the Line
From left, center Casey Rabach, guard Pete Kendall and tackle Chris Samuels at work against the Lions. The Redskins' running game has been slowed by injuries on the offensive line.
(By John Mcdonnell -- The Washington Post)
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The Redskins' first six running plays went to the left side in a 24-17 loss to the New York Giants on Sept. 23. Running back Clinton Portis leads the Redskins with 363 yards on 86 carries for a 4.2-yard average. Portis has run left 42 times for 213 yards (a 5.1-yard average), and scored all three of his touchdowns to that side of the field. On the right side, Portis has gained 114 yards in 32 carries for 3.6 yards per carry.
But Washington's distribution of running plays is more balanced than perceived, the Redskins said.
"In the running game, particularly in the zone-blocking game, you have to understand that plays that start to one side almost always go back to the other side," Kendall said. "A lot of the most important blocks are the ones on the back side of a play, not on the front side. So when the ball starts on the left, most times, the really important blocks are actually going to be the ones on the right side. That's why it's just not as simple as to say that we're always trying to favor one side over the other.
"I know with all the injuries we've had, it's probably easy for people to say, 'Well, Pete and Chris have been around awhile, and Chris has been to the Pro Bowl, so they're trying to run over there.' I know all that stuff, but I don't buy that. And the other thing is, very rarely will you see a team say that they're going to set their defense on one side of the field, the hell with whatever's happening on the other side. They're going to set their defense to the strength of the offense" based on the side where the tight end is positioned.
And field position is a factor in play-calling, Saunders said.
"Sometimes a game could end up becoming skewed, one way more than the other, simply because of the way the ball was placed," he said. "Whether you're on the right or left hash, where you are on the field, plays a big part in it."
Regardless, the Redskins' rushing production must improve to ease the load on Campbell and provide the type of offensive balance Gibbs espouses.
"We know what's at stake," Samuels said. "We have to win week to week, and we have to play good upfront to win. We've got to get it done and we've got to get it done fast. Whatever is broken, we've got to fix it."
Redskins Note: The team released tight end Cody Boyd to make room for Sampson.
