Smith to return to punting duties; Paulescu released

Smith to give it a go; Paulescu released

With punter Hunter Smith apparently having recovered from a groin injury, the Washington Redskins released punter Sam Paulescu and signed rookie safety Lendy Holmes from the practice squad on Saturday.

Paulescu performed well while handling punting duties in place of Smith during last week's 31-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome. He had overall and net averages of 50 and 46 yards, respectively, and would have been kept on the roster if Smith had continued to struggle with his groin injury.

But Smith punted well enough this week to persuade coaches he is ready to return to the lineup Sunday against the Denver Broncos at FedEx Field. The Redskins added Holmes to the active roster because second-year safety Chris Horton (toe surgery) was placed on the season-ending injured-reserve list this week.

Special effort needed

The Redskins have struggled on offense all season, and the Denver Broncos suddenly have big problems on that side of the ball as well. Although field position is a key factor in most games, that battle could be even more important Sunday at FedEx Field because of each team's lack of offensive punch.

In their loss to Atlanta, the Redskins did some good things on kickoff coverage in the second half to help spark a rally. They need to keep it going against Denver, Lorenzo Alexander said in this week's installment of "Special Teams Saturday with Lorenzo Alexander."

"We've got to do just like we did last week," he said. "We came out in the second half and really got some things going with some big hits and tackles inside the 20 that helped get us back on track.

"Just looking at [the Broncos] on film, we have a good chance to do that this week. We match up very well against them. We have a chance to win some one-on-one matchups against them and get some tackles inside the 20."

After a 6-0 start, the Broncos (6-2) have scored a total of 17 points while dropping two in a row. The Redskins (2-6) must make things as difficult as possible on the Broncos' offense, and special teams could help on that front.

"We've been missing some of those tackles the last few weeks to really pin teams," Alexander said. "That's what we have to do: Pin teams back and really make them have to drive a long way on our defense."

As always, the Redskins hope to get their kickoff and punt return games rolling. "There always returns that could be out there as long as guys . . . just trying to hold a block for so long is hard sometimes," Alexander said. "If you can get guys to stay on their blocks just a second longer. That's what makes the difference."

-- Jason Reid