Terry Robiskie, right, with receiver Albert Connell Reginald A. Pearman Jr. washingtonpost.com

Robiskie joined the Redskins as wide receivers coach in 1994 after spending 12 years as a coach for the Raiders. Drafted by the Oakland Raiders in 1977, his five-year playing career includes three seasons with the Raiders and two with the Dolphins.

washingtonpost.com: Welcome back to Airing It Out. Thanks to Terry Robiskie for joining us. We've got a bunch of questions following Sunday's win over the Cardinals, so let's get right to it.

Staten Island, N.Y.: Over the previous weeks, you spoke of the team getting its second wind for the stretch run. With the impressive win over the Cardinals, I felt that the 'Skins played their most complete game of the season. Do you think that this team if now getting that second wind, and is peaking at a most opportune time as you head to Indianapolis?

Terry Robiskie: Well, that's what you hope. We are hoping that with the win on Sunday we will have our new life and second wind. We backed off a little early in practice last week and it appears that it helped. So maybe it is our second wind.

Newport News, Va.: Congratulations on a great win Coach!
Looking at the replay of the long touchdown pass to Westbrook, I failed to see the illegal shift that the officials flagged the Redskins for. What did you see on that play?
Good luck in Indy!

Terry Robiskie: When the fullback began his motion Westbrook wasn't set. Mike started moving up at the same time the running back went in motion, and that made it illegal. It was a good call.

Fairfax, Va.: I saw that one play in the first quarter that Westbrook missed his block and they showed you talking to him about it. After that Westbrook was blocking and making plays all over the field. What did you say to him?

Terry Robiskie: It was a running play that Mike thought was going inside of him so he jumped inside for his block. I explained to him the ball could bounce outside of him and that he needed to get on the defender and stay on him. He understood and finished the game with some wonderful blocks.

Chap, Va.: Hi Coach, Tom C. here. Question about Albert Connell. Brad Johnson's sideline interception appeared to be Connell's fault because he did not finish off his pattern crisply and allowed the DB to get in front of him. I have also seen other incompletions and TV isolation shots showing coverage where Connell gets lazy in his cuts or breaks off his patterns too soon. Is he just getting worn down in his first full season as a starter, or do you think it is a confidence problem? Thanks!

Terry Robiskie: Well, the interception was not Albert's fault. The DB just broke on the throw. He squatted on the route and made a nice play. So it was not Albert's fault.

Washington, D.C.: I like the fact that James Thrash has become more involved with the offense over the last several weeks. What has he had to work on the most since just being a kick returner to becoming more involved with the offense? What more does he need to do to be ready to replace Irving Fryar whenever he decides to retire?

Terry Robiskie: James must continue to practice hard and concentrate. I think he is ready to play. He only needs game time experience. He simply needs to play. With each game he should continue to improve.

Denver, Colo: Terry, will opponent's fear of the deep passing game continue to open up the toss sweeps that worked so well this week? Also, it isn't apparent on the TV but are you facing a lot of 2 deep zone preventing the occasional bomb or is it a mix of defenses that works to prevent the big strike first and protect the flats -and apparently the sweeps- second?

Terry Robiskie: We are facing a lot of the deep zone and of course that should open up the weak side toss.

Philadelphia, Pa.: Coach, congrats on the dominant victory on Sunday. . .nice to see the offense firing on all cylinders again.
Is the coaching staff doing anything specific this week to prepare for the noisy dome environment? All those false start penalties against the Lions killed us. It didn't look like the offense was ready for such a loud atmosphere. Can we expect to see greater use of hand signals and the like? Please tell Norv not to abandon the run game. Thanks and good luck.

Terry Robiskie: For the Lions game we did a lot of work preparing for the crowd noise. I think that it became more of a distraction than a positive. I hope this time we will just go out and play. The only answer to crowd noise is scoring.

Washington, D.C.: I was good to see Brad hit Connell on that quick slant that turned out to be a big play in the first half on Sunday. I remember a few years ago it seemed that Norv wanted to implement that play with Westbrook like he did often with Irvin in Dallas. Is that play not often called by Norv now or is that mostly dictated by opponent's defensive lineups?

Terry Robiskie: It's called every week. Usually, a defense will roll the coverage that way. This time they made a mistake and the play was a success.

Fairfax, Va.:
Congratulations for a great game against the Cards!
My question: Are you aware that you're telegraphing the play-action pass? On most running plays, Brad Johnson has his arm fully extended as he approaches the RB. On a fake handoff, the arm is always tucked in. You're not fooling me, so I doubt you're fooling opposing defenses.

Terry Robiskie: I don't think the defense, who is getting hit in the mouth by Tre Johnson, can notice if Brad's arm is bent or not. That might work for you watching on TV. But I think it's a little harder for those guys on the field.

Herndon,Va.: Coach I know all we here about is Indianapolis and the big three with Peyton, Edgerrin, and Marvin. But how good is their defense? Are they the hardest defense you will face this year or do you think they have some weaknesses? Good luck coach. Keep Westbrook and Davis involved. They looked great last weekend.

Terry Robiskie: The defense is very sound and very solid. I think they can be had. However, we must be patient.

New York, N.Y.: While we optimistic fans expect the Skins to do well every year, the Colts have truly been a surprise in '99. Their turnaround has certainly been helped by the play of their solid secondary. Burris and Cota are tall and physical, Belser and Poole have both shown their big play potential. If and when we don't run the ball, how do you expect to match up in passing situations given that their secondary seems to counter our receivers well?

Terry Robiskie: I am not sure they do counter us well. We have given Poole
some problems in the past when he was with Carolina. Burris we made a few plays against when he was with Buffalo. I think if they go to their man for man scheme, we will be able to do some things against them.

Mt. Ranier, Wash.: Coach, best game of the year so far; BUT - when are the -stupid- penalties going to stop?

Terry Robiskie: I have no idea. Penalties are just a part of football. The dumb penalties are the ones we have to stop like Westbrook's touchdown getting called back for two people being in motion. We must correct those and eliminate those penalties.

Killeen, Tx.: Always informative to ask you a question, Coach. Being a native Washingtonian you always catch the negative on the Skins down here but, with the team taking on another formidable AFC East opponent where do you begin to breakdown a team outside your conference...how do you gather film & from what sources? Other teams in their division, scouting, etc? Great game plan, Coach Rob..confident we can score 27 or more & shock the Colts!

Terry Robiskie: No, all film comes in from the league office. Every Monday we get a videotape of every game played in the league. So from that we will begin our film breakdown.

Fairfax, Va.: And I thought Stephen Davis' touchdown celebration was goofy. What the heck was Irving Fryar doing after his touchdown catch? Davis is one thing -- he's a running back. Fryar is a receiver and, therefore, as his position coach, it is your responsibility to show him the proper way to celebrate a score! I'm lobbying for the Fun Bunch celebration to make a comeback.

Terry Robiskie: I have no idea of your age, but there's a chance Irving Fryar began celebrating touchdowns before you were born. He's close to my age so I promise you I cannot help him with his celebration. Now, if you have a few dances that you can do send them to me, next week, sign your name, and I'll talk to Irving about it. As a matter of fact, I'll try to get him to come see you and you guys can work on it.

Cocoa Beach, Fla.: The last few weeks it seems Brad has had a difficult time getting the ball deep. Even when it looks as if play action has held the defense he still seems to be dumping the ball short over the middle. Is this because the coverages are tighter on our wideouts than earlier in the season, or is it a mental or timing problem? Thanks in advance for your response.

Terry Robiskie: The coverage is definetly changing for our receivers. We are getting a lot more double coverage. So of course, we are having to dump the ball a little more to Larry Centers and other running backs. People are starting to notice that we have two receivers with 50 catches each and 1000 yards each. So we are starting to get a lot more double coverage.

Largo, Md.: Coach T, Did Fryar get any "critiques" on his TD celebration?

Terry Robiskie: Not at all. That's something he's been doing for about 10 years. So I just let him go. He has been practicing that celebration for two months now. So we knew it was coming.

Georgetown, Del.: Hi Terry- great game Sunday- on the interception in the endzone it seemed that AC stayed down for a while after the play. I haven't seen an injury report- is he ok and how close is S. Alexander to 100%? Thanks and good luck Sunday, should be a great game.

Terry Robiskie: Stephen is close, probably 90 - 92%. Albert Connell had the wind knocked out of him a little, but he is fine.

Middletown, N.Y.: Wow ! Congratulations to Mr.Westbrook for finally breaking the 1000 yd mark. I think he owes you a nice shiny Rolex for Christmas. You've really done a terrific job getting the best from your guys, Coach. Here's my question. While everybody else is worried about keeping Stephen Davis under contract, I'm just as worried about keeping our Passing Game Coordinator. Without divulging dollar figures -which is nobody's business but yours- are you under contract, or a UFA after we win the Super Bowl ? Go Redskins !

Terry Robiskie: You should email that information to Mr. Snyder. He may mail it back to you, but it would be a great try. Yes, I am under contract for one more year. And no, Michael doesn't owe me a Rolex. I probably bought my first Rolex before Michael was born. Thanks a lot for writing and all of the compliments.

Redmond, Wash.: Hi Terry! Thanks for your candor, patience, and attendance. It's been a blast all season.
I'm curious about your playcalling. Not what and when, but how. What does one of your typical plays look like? Do you call the package from the sideline and radio in the formation and play to Brad? Do you guys use numbers for your pass routes, or names, or both? What kind of audibles does Raymer typically call on the line?
Just curious. I played QB in high school and was wondering how the Redskins did it in the big-time.
Thanks again and go beat the living you-know-what out of the Colts!

Terry Robiskie: The pros do it exactly like you described. We will call the plays in from the sidelines and Brad gives them to the offense in the huddle. We use the numbering system in the running game and the passing game. Very much the way you described it. And yes, Cory Raymer will make audibles at the line of scrimmage depending on the defense they are in.

Reading, Pa.: Great game, congratulations coach. With some amazement, I read Norv Turner's comments after the Detroit game that he didn't know there were only 3 or 4 running plays called in the 2nd half till someone told him after the game. With so many professional, experienced coaches on the sideline, how does something like this get missed? I'm sure you, as the passing game coordinator, would be following the involvement of passing plays in the offense, isn't there someone watching the running game? Thanks and good luck the rest of the year.

Terry Robiskie: We are not on the sideline counting the number of passes being thrown or runs being run. We do all we can to keep up with the ones that are working and the ones that are not.

Isle of Palms, S.C.: Great game yesterday coach, it seems like you guys are really starting to put it together both offensively and defensively for the stretch run. I wonder if you could talk about the perception by the media and some fans that the team struggles in big games, when the truth is, every time you have been in a "must win" situation, you seem to come out and dominate. I love the way this team has handled the gut checks this year, and I think that it will serve you well in the playoffs and beyond. Thanks, now go take it to the Colts this week!!

Terry Robiskie: Thanks a lot for your support, I appreciate that. We have tried to rise to every occasion. No, we have not succeeded every time, but we have had some success. Hopefully, this week we can succeed in another big game. But you sound very supportive and for that I say thanks.

Largo, Md.: Coach T, I'll be the O-Line was sky-high after pounding the Cards with the running game. Do you expect Indy to load-up in the box?

Terry Robiskie: I think with the amount of yards that Stephen Davis ran for they will have to drop the safeties in.

Sterling, Va.: What are your thoughts on the crowd noise at Fed-ex this season? I noticed the sound system was still playing at the start of some plays. Great job and keep the intensity.

Terry Robiskie: I think the crowd noise for the most part has been wonderful. Of course, if we can get in the NFC Championship game at home then I'll see the real crowd noise. But I will say the crowd noise has been good and even great at times. I promise you it is very helpful.

Florham Park, N.J:
On Sunday -- after the long touchdown run -- it seemed in the first half that the Cardinals had stopped Davis. Then, you guys came out in the second half and all of a sudden our running game couldn't be stopped. Did you guys make any adjustments -I thought I saw more outside runs.-? Did you just execute better? Were the Cardinals just tired? I was really impressed by the dramatic turnaround.
Congratulations on the win, and good luck this weekend.

Terry Robiskie: Yes, we made quite a few adjustments at halftime. We decided to mix in a little more two TE and WO. We figured the extra TE will help us a little more with the safeties dropping down. It appears to have worked.

Bethesda, Md.: Hi, Coach. Season ticket-holder here who bleeds burgundy and gold and thinks you fellas did a great job on Sunday. I'd like you to comment on two things.
1. Are you confident the offense can run the ball on Indy the way you ran on 'Zona? Keeping the ball away from Manning, James, Harrison seems to be your best chance.
2. If the season ended today, the Skins would have the top pick in the draft. Have you seen Peter Warrick play and--as a passing coach--what do you think of him? Warrick and Westbrook would be terrifying.

Terry Robiskie: I am hoping that we can run the ball the same way and make the same big plays. Of course, we will have a much better opportunity to succeed if we can run the ball like we did against Arizona. Yes, I have seen Peter Warrick and I think that he is a wonderful player. I think that he will have a wonderful career. Of course, it is always great to coach good players.

New York, N.Y.: Coach Robiskie, thanks for your time. Who on the offense do you see as a top candidate to become a coach upon retirement? It seems as if Irving Fryar and Brian Mitchell are the obvious answers. How about players who -unfairly- don't get as much publicity, such as linemen or reserves?

Terry Robiskie: The one guy that I see becoming a good coach is Casey Weldon. Irving Fryar and Brian Mitchell would never survive. Their biggest problem would be that one day they might have to coach a young Irving Fryar or Brian Mitchell and they know what that would be like. I promise you that they would get old before their time. They could not handle it.

Harrisburg, Pa. : Coach you will beat the Colts on Sunday 31-17. True fans believe in our team and we are and will always be there through good times and bad. Thanks for more good times than bad this season.

Terry Robiskie: Thanks a million, and I hope that you are right. If that is the score, I would love it. Thanks a lot and I really hope that you know what you are talking about. Thanks for the support. I appreciate it. See you next week.

washingtonpost.com: That's all the time we have. Thanks again to Terry Robiskie. Join us next week for another edition of Airing It Out.