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

Terry Robiskie, the Redskins' passing game coordinator, discussing the Titans game and Washington's next opponent, the Arizona Cardinals, said the offense will be running the same plays with quarterback Jeff George in the starting lineup.

Robiskie joined the Redskins as wide receivers coach in 1994 after spending 12 years as a coach with the Raiders. A running back out of LSU, he was drafted by Oakland in 1977 and played for five seasons, three for the Raiders and two for the Dolphins.

Terry Robiskie: Welcome to a very dull week and a very slow week after an ugly loss. But it's a new week, a new Friday, added to a new Sunday. So let's get started.

Redwood Shores, CA: Coach,
Tough loss on Monday night. I was proud of how you guys fought hard in the second half even after those demoralizing scores by Tennessee.
By the final drive, Thrash and Fryar were hurt. You had AC, Reed, Deion, and Champ in the game, right? Nobody else was left. Had Deion practiced with the offense? Were you running either cornerback as a decoy?
Thanks for your time. Good luck on Sunday.

Terry Robiskie: No, neither defensive back had practiced with the offense. And of course, they were not decoys. If you remember, the final interception of the game was a ball being thrown to Deion. We were just fortunate to be able to put those guys in and have them knowing what to do. Of course, after I told them what to do.

Weatherly, Pennsylvania: Tough loss on Monday night, Coach. The Titans game was very frustrating because the Redskins beat themselves with costly turnovers, penalties, and big plays allowed. Perhaps the play of the game was Rolle's 81 yard interception return for a touchdown before the half. I try not to criticize the Redskins because they are my team and because I probably couldn't do any better myself, but I have to ask this question: Where were the receivers when Rolle was running around FedEx Field for what seemed like an eternity? I find it hard to believe that the only Redskins who had a chance at tackling that guy were some offensive linemen near the goal line. Your thoughts? Thanks for joining us, and good luck against Arizona.

Terry Robiskie: Let me admit that I still can not believe someone on the field wasn't able to tackle that guy. As for the receivers, when Irving Fryar began his chase, he was blocked out of bounds by a defensive back. The guy cut Irving which killed his chase. AC was killed by a linebacker. The guy flipped AC completely over, killing his chase. James Thrash was the only one in the receiving group still chasing, and he was about 20 yards behind everyone. When the DB crossed the goal line, James was still chasing. However, he was still about ten yards behind the play. Unfortunately, and sadly, but it happened.

Camp Hill, PA: Coach - The loss to the Titans was a tough one. But the game against the Cardinals is huge with the bye the following week. Question: It seems the passing game is successful when A.C. and J.T. are catching the ball on the in and dig routes. That seemed to be missing against the Titans. Was that more a problem with route running or the Titans secondary or both?? Good luck against the Cards!! I firmly believe the best is yet to come with our team. Hail to the Redskins!!

Terry Robiskie: It's difficult for me to say which routes are more productive, the in route or the crossing routes. I believe our offense is more productive when we're catching the ball. The big thing is to catch first downs, move the chains and keep a drive alive. That's when the offense is at its best. It's difficult for me to decide which routes help us perform better. I think it's just pitching and catching.

San Francisco, CA: Coach,
So far this season our two minute drill does not inspire a whole lot of confidence. Brad seems to almost always get intercepted -- a serious blow to morale and momentum. What is the problem? Are receivers running the wrong routes? Bad throws? Inadequate pass protection? It seems that in critical moments when the pressure is on, the passing game is not only coming up short -- it's worse than that -- we're turning the ball over. How are we going to fix that in the second half of the season?

Terry Robiskie: I agree with you. Our two-minute offense has been less than inspiring this season. Unfortunately, we are turning the ball over too much at critical times. Why? I don't know. I will agree with you, it is something we need to fix and fix in a hurry. I will say this, it's difficult to put blame on any one person or one group. The receivers are not running the wrong routes, and the quarterback is not making the wrong reads. I think it's more of the defense making plays. The interception on Monday was a very good play by their defensive back. We ran the correct route, the offensive line had great protection, and Brad went through the correct read. Brad felt that he could get the ball thrown over the DB's head. Unfortunately, the guy jumped up and made a terrific play. As much as that was unfortunate, the most unfortunate thing was that we were unable to get him tackled.

Atlanta, GA: Coach, can you talk about the two timeouts that Brad called in the second half of the Titans game? As he called the second one, Brad looked especially disgusted as he called it. And it seemed that Coach Turner was more than upset with him. Under what circumstances will the QB call a timeout? Will he do it under the assumption that every play is critical (especially these two, which were in the red zone) and a misstep could potentially be disastrous? Were these a result of possibly players not lining up in the correct formation?

Terry Robiskie: The two timeouts were very critical to the plays that were called. The first time, we were lined up wrong for the play that was called. The second timeout that was called was because the personnel were backwards. Let me give you an example. We have a formation called "Jack" and another formation called "Stack," and in the middle of a screaming 75,000 people Brad called "Jack" formation, and our guys aligned in "Stack" formation.

Bethesda, MD: What's the feeling in the locker room with George taking over under center? Should we see more big plays? Also, can you get Thrash the ball this week, a lot? We need the Fantasy Points!!

Terry Robiskie: Well, now that I know he's your fantasy guy, I will make sure that he scores 18 points so that you can have total bragging rights in your office. I must admit there is some excitement in the locker room with Jeff stepping in. Everyone knows he's a long ball thrower, so it should be fun.

Washington, DC: How are your receivers feeling these days? Will Fryar play? How about AC and Thrash? Will Thrash still be playing special teams?

Terry Robiskie: The receiving corps is completely banged up. I'm still not sure if Irving is going to play. This week our motto is "Ball Until You Fall." That's the word for the week in the receivers' room.

Leesburg, VA: Can you tell us a little about the corners and safetys of Arizona? When watching tape did you see any specific plays they were having trouble covering? Thanks, and keep up the great job.

Terry Robiskie: Well, of course, Aeneas Williams is still their best corner. He is still a Pro Bowl player. The other two corners are not as good and hopefully we can make a few plays on those guys.

Atlanta: Thanks for being online, Coach. My question has to do with this weekend's game. What is the mood at Redskins Park? I am hoping the players are ready to go out and avenge the loss to Tennessee and not be overconfident about Arizona. How difficult is it to put together an offensive game plan when you are not even sure which of your receivers will be ready and your new QB will only have two days of practice? It seems obvious that the Cards will get a heavy dose of Stephen Davis, but of course you cannot rely solely on him.

Terry Robiskie: It is extremely difficult to put together a game plan not knowing which guy will be able to go. However, we did get an excellent week out of all our guys. James Thrash missed one day, Irving Fryar missed one, and AC and Andre worked every day along with Derrius Thompson. All the guys practiced the last couple days, yesterday and today. I think we should be okay. Of course, they worked all summer in training camp with Jeff, so it's not like they are new to him. It should be okay.

Pittsburgh, PA: With the old and banged up receivers we have, are Vinny or Norv looking around for any extra receivers to sign this year and will you be looking for top-notch receivers either by draft or free agency?

Terry Robiskie: Of course, it's way too early to start talking about the draft and free agency. It's also impossible to begin talking about free agents that we might be able to sign next week. Remember, we do have a salary cap. This isn't like the Minnesota Timberwolves; we live by the rules.

Reston, VA: I've decided that the Jacksonville Jags and the others have nothing on the 'Skins when it comes to injuries. Have you done any forward planning this week with the receiving corps in the event that Thrash, Fryar (if he plays) and Connell aggravate their injuries by having Deion and Champ practice at wide receiver with a QB they've probably never worked with? Great job this year. Let's gut this one out and just limp into the bye week.

Terry Robiskie: Thanks for your positive support. Yes, with all the injuries we did practice with Champ and Deion for one or two plays. Of course, let's remember, Darrell Green is still hurt and he won't be active this week. So the problem is, both of those guys will be needed on the defensive side of the ball.

Big Pants, Virginia: Coach,
Can you compare Brad Johnson to Jeff George for us? I would guess Jeff provides more zip on his passes, but Brad makes better reads and is more accurate. Is this right? Thanks.

Terry Robiskie: Brad and Jeff are totally different talents. Brad is more of a Joe Montana with a soft ball and the touch passes. Jeff is more of a John Elway, with a faster ball and more of a zip thrower. By zip I mean not to lay it in there, but to zip it in there. But they're both very talented players and both are very capable of leading a good football team to Tampa this January.

Cary, NC: Hey Terry, I really enjoy this forum and your up-front responses. Was our fourth quarter reciever crew as "playground" as it looked? Were you able to do any coaching with that, or was it more like "line up there and go long?" That had to be a nightmare.

Terry Robiskie: No, it was a little bit helter-skelter and we felt a little limited, but at the end I think we were okay. Deion was in the game and he knows our system pretty good. With Champ, I had to hold his hand a little and kind of walk him through it.

Shenandoah, VA: Can you give us the true scoop on Brad's knee? Will he really be out four weeks?

Terry Robiskie: I'm not sure how long he will be out. Brad is very competitive and I'm sure he will do all he can to get back as quickly as he can. I can not tell you how severe the damage is to his knee.

Washington, DC: With the 'Skins lacking the big WR presence of Mike (6'3" 220) what is stopping us from seeing Derrius (6'2" 215)? I know he will be active on Sunday but will he get the nod to actually play?

Terry Robiskie: Well, again, Derrius is a big guy, but I hope you only see him late in the fourth quarter when we have already won. If Derrius is in the game early that means someone else is injured and out. So I hope you don't see him too early. Even for a guy 6'4" 220, that guy still must be ready to play in the NFL. There's a little bit more to this business than to be big and run fast. You've got to be able to play. I'm not sure if he's ready, but ready or not, here he comes.

Bethesda, MD: Stephen Alexander has been very effective when used in the mid-range passing game. Since our deep passing game to AC and JT has been cut off by opposing safeties, why not get the ball to Alexander more? Few if any linebackers can stay with him. When safeties are forced to come up and cut off Alexander, then we go deep with it. All in all, don't you think we've been moving the ball well this season, except the times where we seem to be determined to get a deep pass in there? Where's the patience?

Terry Robiskie: I'm not sure if you're watching the Redskins. You said the deep ball has been cut off. I think about 12 days ago, AC had seven for about 211. Did you watch that game or no? There were a few deep balls in there, had you been watching. But I do agree with you, we must work harder to get Stephen more balls when he's matched man-for-man on linebackers. Even when he's matched man-for-man against most strong safeties, we should take advantage of that.

Washington, DC: Terry, being an ex-Raider, the Raiders were always tough teams. Is this Redskin team tough enough mentally and physically to win it all? There always seem to be mistakes and nagging injuries that affect their games this year.

Terry Robiskie: Like most teams in the NFL, even the old, tough Raiders, you will have games of injuries and games of mistakes. If your injuries and mistakes are limited, then you should be okay. Too many mistakes will kill any team, even the tough, old Raiders. Your question, is this team tough enough? I think so. And with seven games left we get to find out just who we are and what we're made of.

Laurel, Md: Hi Terry, with James moving to starter will we see more of Adrian Murrell handling some of the kick and punt return duties?

Terry Robiskie: No, Adrian is not a punt returner and if you'll notice he's struggling a little catching the kicks on kick returns. It's unfortunate that James Thrash has got to do more, but we're fortunate to have him and fortunate that he is capable. Like I told James, he's got five months, from February to July, to rest. Right now he's got to go.

Washington, DC: I'm sure you're tired of hearing this, but I've been to all of the home games this year and sometimes it seems that opposing corners know which routes our recievers are going to run on a given play. For example, the last throw to Deion in the Tennessee game. Do you think this had anything to do with the open training camp?

Terry Robiskie: I'm sure some teams benefited from our open training camp, but I'm not sure that's the reason. I don't agree that teams know what routes we're running before we run them. To be honest, I'm not always sure that I know what routes we're running before we run them. Because when we call a route, sometimes it will change in the middle of the snap count because of the coverage. Now when you ask if teams benefited from our open training camp, are you telling me the only ones that benefited were the three we lost to? What about the six we defeated? They watched the same practice. So no, I'm not sure that's the reason.

Columbus, OH: Coach, what can you tell us about the Arizona defense? In your opinion, are they more vunerable to the pass or the run?

Terry Robiskie: Well, as I sat and watched film all week, it was difficult to decipher. Dallas threw very few passes and won the game easily. San Francisco and Green Bay had tremendous amounts of success throwing the ball.

Leesburg, VA: Does the change at quarterback affect the playcalling, or will you run the same plays that you would with Brad? Thanks for being with us, and best of luck this week.

Terry Robiskie: I think in this case we will run the same plays. If we were going from Brad Johnson to Doug Flutie then we may change up a little. But since Brad and Jeff are similar in a lot of ways, we won't change what we do.

Dallas, Texas: Terry,
Is there any resentment on the part of the players and or coaches towards Coach McDaniel and his special teams since they seem to be a major reason why this club has not been able to get to the next level...as an elite team in the NFL?
Thanks for your answer.

Terry Robiskie: I don't think there's any resentment in my room or anywhere else in the building. If we're going to resent those guys then they should resent us for throwing that interception for a score right before half. And they should perhaps resent the defense for one drive during the game that they allowed Tennessee to have. So everyone can resent everyone if there's going to be any resenting. No, no one is resenting anyone. We're living together and we will die together.

Herndon, VA: Coach,
What types of positive things can you take from Monday's game? At a minimum it seems as though we were the better team but for two big plays. Maybe I'm just an apologist.

Terry Robiskie: I think there were a lot of positives coming from that game. To take the opening drive and go down and score the way we did was a very big positive. To run the ball as well as we did against a strong AFC defense was a positive. And some of the plays that we did execute were good positives. We will continue to build on those positives in hopes that they'll carry over to Arizona this week.

Washington, D.C.: Andre Reed seems to have vanished. What are your plans to include him more in the offense?

Terry Robiskie: Our plans are to use Andre when necessary. We're not a four wide receiver team. I know we're starting Jeff George, but no, this isn't run-and-shoot. We will use Andre Reed at different times during the game as necessary.

Woodland Hills, CA: Would you please comment on why, on third downs, many of our receivers set up and catch the ball a yard or two short of the first down instead of beyond it? Seems like I've seen too many of these passes stopped just short of the first down. If you're going to be in tight coverage on these short yardage third downs anyway, why don't the receivers go beyond the first down to set up for the reception?

Terry Robiskie: You sound like John Madden. John's biggest question is always, on 3rd and 7, why are you throwing a five yard route? Well, like I tell John, everyone in America questions that theory until you're watching the St. Louis Rams, when it's 3rd and 5 and the defense blitzes and they throw a two yard out, and the receiver breaks it for 80. Sometimes on the 3rd and 7, a team's tendency may be to blitz. Whereas a play caller thinking the blitz is coming will try to get the ball away a lot quicker and hope a great player or a good player will gain the extra two or three yards and maybe break it all the way for 80.

Raleigh, NC: I liked seeing Sellers catch a touchdown, but do you think Centers can be more involved?

Terry Robiskie: Do I think Centers can be more involved? You're kidding, right? Centers is the leading receiver on our team by far. Come on, quit joking, this is a very serious show we're doing here.

Decatur, GA: Coach, can you talk about David Terrell? It seems like he may be a little bit of an unsung hero thus far into the year. On special teams he's made some pretty impressive plays that haven't garnered a ton of attention. Does the team have any plans to feature him more?

Terry Robiskie: David Terrell is a very talented young player. Today he's one of our top special teams players. Each week he's getting better and better. When you say, are we going to feature him more, do you mean something like starting him ahead of Champ Bailey? No, I don't think you'll see that any time soon. But David is doing an outstanding job for us. Let's hope he continues to improve and I think he will.

Oakland, CA: Hi Coach. Tough loss, but the team showed good heart and refused to back down. My question has to do with audibles. If Brad or Jeff is told to run a play and then sees the defense lining up perfectly to stop that play, is he allowed to change it at the line of scrimmage? Wouldn't the ability to audible save some burned timeouts down the stretch? Good luck Sunday.

Terry Robiskie: Yes, we do have an audible system. Of course, it's not on every play, only on certain plays. We wouldn't want to spend the whole game checking from one play to the next, but we do have an audible system in place.

Atlanta, GA: Coach, how do you and the rest of the coaching staff address the penalties that the team is seeming to rack up in these games? While some are unavoidable (B. Smith's 15 yd. personal foul on MNF), most of them seem crazy--like holding calls on running plays! How do coaches respond to these?

Terry Robiskie: Well, 15 yard penalties, like personal fouls, are a lot easier to address than a holding call on a running play. Because during a running play, a player may be fighting his heart out for you and just by giving a little extra tug he gets hit with a holding call. We talk about it and address it, but we try not to destroy a guy when his aggression gets him in trouble. We like aggressive players.

Herndon, Va: Coach, this is your big chance! With all the injuries to our wide receivers, it's time for your comeback. Can you see the expressions on the Cardinals' defensive backs' faces as you sprint down the field? By the time they're over the shock, you'll have at least a couple of touchdowns. All we'll need to do is be sure to have several extra tanks of oxygen on the sidelines. I'm counting on you suiting up again this Sunday!

Terry Robiskie: I must say, I'm very happy that we have saved your question for last. You must be losing it, if you're thinking that I can run anything over five yards with a football uniform on. And I must promise you, if I did, a few extra oxygen tanks wouldn't help. Let me say this, there wouldn't be enough oxygen in the whole state of Arizona, but I will say I'm happy to close the show with your question being last.

washingtonpost.com: Thanks for joining us and see you next Friday for another edition of Airing It Out with Terry Robiskie.