December 30-- Brunnell In, Arrington-Lindsay Fight

QB Mark Brunnell did more in Friday's practice then he did on Thursday and is now expected to start on Sunday against the Eagles...

CB Carlos Rogers is improving according to trainers and is a game time decision, he remains questionable for the game.. Rogers said if he does not play this week, he'll definitely be back for the team's playoff game if they have one.. he says it would be very painful still to use his arm to tackle a player...

All others on the injury report are expected to play including Shawn Springs who took part in Friday's practice, hsi first of the week.. Same goes for DE Renaldo Wynn who missed Wednesday and Thursday..

The Skins have not won in Philadelphia since 2001, the final win of a their last five game win streak.. Washington started 0-5 that year under Marty Schottenheimer then won 5 straight...
The Eagles were 6-0 last year in the NFC East, with a loss they will end this seaosn at 0-6..

More LaVar Arrington stuff: He and Linebackers coach Dale Lindsay had a heated argument that escalated into the locker room.. Sources say Arrington was satisifed that this finally happened, that he finally got to tell Lindsay to "Fuck off." This was an impending explosion as some would classify it.. Lindsay and Arrington have not been on good terms for a long period of time.. How much this had to do with Arrington's playing time earlier in the year is not exactly known.. Gregg Williams pointed to Arrington's health as the main reason things moved slowly this year.. Williams by all accounts has a good relationship with Arrington.. Asked if it is a dissapointment should this ultimately be Arrington's last game or games in Washington, he said no, he looks at it the other way, that Arrington has made strides and the only thing that is dissapointing about the sitaution is how the injuries affected his play..

Happy New Year

December 29-- Brunnell Back, Portis in Costume

QB Mark Brunnell returned to practcie yesterday, it is becoming increasingly more likely that he will be the starting QB Sunday in Philadelphia..
T Chris Samuels also returned to practice after sitting out Wednesday with ankle/knee issues..

CB Carlos Rogers, DE Renaldo Wynn, and CB Shawn Springs all missed Thursday's work, the injury report remianed the same with Rogers listed as questionable and the other two as probable..

Players asked about the LaVar Arrington story seemed unnerved by the timing of it.. Phillip Daniels, Marcus Washington, among others praised Arrington as a good teammate..
Gregg Williams would not address the comments he made to the Washington Times but spoke to me at length about Arrington in general terms, asked if he thought it would be a dissapointment if Arrington left after this season with the tenure he had here, Williams said no and that he thought LaVar had made great progress and blamed most of his issues over the past two seasons on health..
He did talk generally about having high rpofile players saying that all of them like any other player have to be able to put their own agendas aside and become team players.he reiterated some of the sentiments from Joe Gibbs saying right now is not the time for anyone to talk about anything besides playing the Eagles..
Williams said he learned a lesson from Buddy Ryan when he worked under him in Houston saying he watched Ryan tell talented players that "he cut guys better then them."

RB Clinton Portis was dressed up in a white robe and cat face mask saying he was "Sputheast Jerome from Heaven." This was Portis's first character who he says was murdered after the NY loss.. He was accompanyed this week by six teammates all dressed up as well, Ladell betts, Rock cartwright, Chris Cooley, Robert Royal, Nehemiah Broughton and Ryan Clark.. These were supposedly his friends that he met in Heaven, I didn't catch all their names, but Cooley was brothr White man and someone was Macaroni Tony.. Cooley was "the only white guy to make it on the soul plane."
Portis is about to break Stephen Davis's single season rush mark of 1432 set in 2001.. he is 28 yards back heading to the Philly game where he figures to get plenty of carries due to the must win nature of the game.. Portis said he is excited about the possibility and will carry the honor well.. Portis is one more hundred yard performance away from surpassing 1500 yards in a season for the 3rd time in four years..

December 28-- LaVar Reaction

LB LaVar Arrington did not comment on the article written in the Washington Times yesterday where he suggested he may retire if the Skins don't retain him which he believes will be the case.. he did say he might be interested in playing for a few teams if the opportunity arose.. Joe Gibbs also declined comment on the subject saying he has not read the article, but sources have told me that Arrington met with Gibbs behind clsoed doors yesterday to smooth things over and that everything is fine and will be fine..
Former LB Jeremiah Trotter was on the Eagles conference call with us yesterday and said that he believed even when he was playing here he believed Arrington could be the best defensive playe rin the NFL, "if he studied and played within the context of a scheme and was more professional."

QB Mark Brunnell said his knee is feeling better and admits that the magnitudfe of the game has him aggressively working toward playing this Sunday.. Joe Gibbs believes as of now he thinks Brunnell will be able to play.. Brunnell did not take part in the team portions of practice and is listed as probable..

Other injuries: CB Carlos Rogers (bicep) questionable, T Chris Samuels (ankle) probable, CB Shawn Springs (groin) probable, S Matt Bowen (knee) probable, DE Renaldo Wynn (foot) probable..
Only Bowen took part in practice of the plauers listed on the injury report..

Eagles injuries: DE Jevon Kearse (knee) questionable, RB Reno Mahe (calf) questionable, WR Darnerian McCants (shoulder) questionable, T Jon Runyan (knee/quad) questionable, CB Sheldon Brown (knee) probable, DE ND Kalu (ankle) probable, QB Mike McMahon (ribs/knee) probable, WR Billy McMullen (knee) probable, DT Mike Patterosn (knee) probable, RB Bruce Perry (back) probable..

Minor moves if you missed them from Tuesday.. Skins sign DB Christian Morton from the practcie squad to the active roster, they inked DB Dwight Ellick to the practice squad..
The team released TE David Kashetta from the practice squad and signed TE Calin Powell to replace him..

LB Chris Clemons who sprained his kne in the NYG game was placed on injured reserve ending his season..

December 26-- Brunnell OK

QB Mark Brunnell has a grade one sprain of the MCL in his right knee.. The swelling in the knee was very limited and for the most part things are structurally sound.. Joe Gibbs said the worry was due in part because the knee was "loose" on Saturday, but he says that his knee is perpetually "loose" due to numerous surgeries on it in the past.. He wears a brace on this knee.. Brunnell is day to day but likely will not be practicing on Wednesday..
Joe Gibbs praised the effort of Patrick Ramsey and said nothing will be changed in terms of how the offense will be structured if Ramsey ends up playing..

Gibbs expressed his usual extreme apprehention about playing the game against the depelted Eagles.. The Skins realize that they must win to ensure a playoff spot.. If Washington defeats Philly, they will be a wild card team at worst, NFC East champ if the NYG lose at Oakland, that game is Saturday night so the Skins will know if they have a shot at the division before kickoff.. Dallas hosts St. Louis and does not kick off until 8:30 PM thus the Skins will have to believe they remain in must win..

G Ray Brown allowed the Redskins run game to "not miss a beat" according to one source at Redskins Park.. The team admits limitations in what Brown can do in terms of pulling that Randy Thomas was so adept at, however from the interior blocking psoition, Brown performed extremely well..

RB coach Earnest Byner says Clinton Portis has reached a certain maturation point that he is starting to understand the Redskins system better and better.. Portis admitted a couple of weeks back that he showed up here thinking he knew it all and didn't listen to then first year coach Earnest Byner as much as he should have.. Portis changed his mindset and Byner said what has happened in the last month has been the result of the hard work.. Joe Gibbs says he appreciates Portis's play on Sundays, "as much as he wants to get out of practice" and that he is now on "a mission" playing his best ball at just the right time for the team..
On the weekly costume shows: Gibbs said he doesn't mind it because Portis never says anything bad about the opposing team and it's just part of his personality..

Gibbs reiterated how much he likes free agency, preferring it to the draft, he likes having the ability to evaluate players who have done it on this level as opposed to the draft, where "how many times have you seen a guy come from college and bust out."

December 24- Redskins 35 Giants 20

The Redskins scored 35 points in consecutive weeks for the first time since the first two weeks of the 1999 season when they lost to Dallas 41-35 in OT then won at NYG 50-21..
They only scored over 30 points once last season, the second meeting with NYG at Fed Ex Field.. They only went over 30 once the year priro as well.. This was the fourth 30+ point game of the season for Washington..

QB Mark Brunnell left in the second half after spraining the MCL in his right knee.. He will likely undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the severity, a complete tear will likely shelve him for a month, if the tearing of the ligament is minor then he could play against Philly..

LB Chris Clemons sprained the MCL in his knee as well, trainers called this moderate and likely worse then what Brunnell has..

Patrick Ramsey played for the first time since the last NYG game.. he ended up going 5-7 for 104 yards including a 72 yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss.. Moss had three touchdowns catching 5 passes for 160 yards.. It was Moss's first 100+ yard game since the SF game and his 5th of the season..

Chris Cooley had 5 catches for 41 yards.. He has 69 grabs for the seaosn, the most ever for a Redskins TE/H-back..

Clinton Portis broke a team record with his 8th 100 plus yard game of the season.. This was also his 5th in a row.. Portis had 108 yards on 27 carries including a 19 yard touchdown run, his second longest of the season..
Portis also threw a touchdown pass, a 20 yarder to Cooley.. he joked afterward that he goes to the QB camps and routinely is more accurate then Joe Montana, Steve Young and Michael Vick..

Tiki Barber only had 16 carries and was held to 80 yards.. Barber had 206 in the first meeting with Washington.. That ended a five game 100 plus yard streak for Tiki..

The Redskins playoff scenario is as such, Washington would win the NFC East if they win at Philadelphia next Sunday and the NYG lose in Oakland.. If Washington wins, they are in at the very least as a wild card.. Atlanta's loss in Carolina eliminates them from playoff contention.. If Minnesota is to lose either of their last two, they would be out as well.. Dallas won in Carolina and own the same 9-6 record as Washington.. If they win next week and Washington loses, the Cowboys would get the wild card over Washington.. Depending on what the Bears, Panthers and Bucs do, there remains a slim possibility of Washington getting the second seed and a bye.. Chicago would have to lose out, so would Tampa, Carolina and NYG..

Happy Holidays

December 22-- Inspector Two Two

Clinton Portis's newest character was "Inspector Two Two" His goal is to investiagte the untimely death of "Jerome From SE" the first character Portis displayed prior to the Giants game.. Portis said Jerome was murrdered after the Skins were murdered in NY 36-nothing..

LB LaVar Arrington was said to have worked out well in Thursday's practice and is expected to be able to go on saturday when the team faces the NYG..

CB Shawn Springs remains probable.. CB Carlos Rogers missed Thursday's practice again and remains very questionable to play..

K John Hall missed the practice with an illness..

Gregg Williams said he has been harping on his players not to think too highly of themselves after beating Dallas the way they did, pulling out the first NYG game as proof..

December 21-- Pro Bowl is Out

Wr Santana Moss was named to his first pro bowl, T Chris Samuels was anmed to his third.. The Redskins had no defensive players named to the roster.. Joe Gibbs described the news as a dissapointment saying he was happy for the two players who received the honor but said he wasn't pleased with the lack of representation.. Among those the team particularly felt were snubs, LB Marcus washington, CB Shawn Springs, G Randy Thomas and QB Mark Brunnell..
Chris Cooley and Clinton Portis were named first alternates and Sean Taylor and Marcus Washington were named second alternates.. Washington was the only Redskin invitee to the pro bowl a seaosn ago..

LB LaVar Arrington did practice on Wednesday and is listed as questionable for the NYG game with a thigh bruise, he is expected to be able to play on Saturday..
CB Carlos Rogers did not practice on Wednesday and is questionable with a torn biceps, Joe Gibbs said it would take a lot for him to be able to play this weekend..
CB Shawn Springs was held out of practice as well with back/groin injuries, he is probable..
T Chris Samuels did not practice with knee/ankle injuries, he is probable.. Samuels says he expects to have to undergo potential scope procedures on his ankle and knee following the season..
S Matt Bowen is listed as probable, (knee)

NYG injuries: LB Antonio Pierce (high ankle sprain) is out for the game, LB Carlos Emmons (pectoral) doubttful, DT Williams Joseph (ankle) doubtful, FB Jim Finn (ankle) questionable, T Kareem McKenzie (hamstring) questionable, T Luke Petitgout (back) questionable, LB Reggie Torbor (calf) questionable..

Ray Brown said his hope for this season would be that it ended up in the playoffs.. Brown is going to be starting for the injured Randy Thomas for the Skins final two regular season games saying his age (43) is something that he isn't going to focus on even though he knows everyone else will.. All he says he has to do is block people which he believes he remains very capable of.. When asked what is different about the NFL now then 20 years ago when he started playing, Brown succinctly said, "I make a lot more money now."

Most of the players characterized the first meeting with the NYG (36-0 NY) as just one of those days that got away from them.. No one had any particular explanations about what happened that day otehr tto say that they haven't tweaked a lot in terms of preparing for the this meeting.. Phillip Daniels said that Antonio Pierce's hints of running to the weak side was not a huge factor in why the Giants were able to run it so effectively against Washington.. Daniels was named the NFC's Defensive player of the week after getting four sacks in the Dallas game..

In case you missed it, the Skins signed OL Ikechuku Ndukwe from the practice squad to take the roster spot vacated by Thomas.. The team also inked OL Jim Jones and TE David Kashetta to their practice squad..

December 19-- Ray Brown to Start at G

G Randy Thomas had surgery for a fractured fibula on Monday evening.. He will be in a cast when he is released from the hospital for about 6 weeks, at that point a screw will be removed from the leg, a plate and second screw stay in.. he will then need about 6-8 weeks of rehab, the team hopes he will be ready when they have mini-camp next Spring..

Ray Brown will start in place of Thomas on Saturday against the Giants.. Brown is in his 20th and potentially final season as an NFL player.. Joe Gibbs admits some of the pulling he has done effectively with Thomas may have to be "tweaked," meaning potentially eliminated..
Gibbs says Thomas's roster spot will likely be taken by someone on the practice squad.. The Redskins have two O-linemen currently on the P-squad..

Other injury notes: CB Carlos Rogers has a torn biceps muscle, the team is working toward getting the swelling out and gaining range of motion.. He is very questionable for this weekend's game..
Trainers praised the effort of CB Shawn Springs who gutted out a strained groin and lower back injury to play.. He did not worsen his consition in the Dallas game and is expected to play Saturday..
CB Walt Harris has a strained calf, he alos did no further damage playing this past weekend and is expected to go on Saturday..
LB LaVar Arrington had a workout Monday at the Park with trainers.. He is said to have a better range of motion in his leg and is expected to be able to play..
WR James Thrash is expected to do more in practice this week then last and is expected to play against the NYG..
DT Cornelious Griffin has a mildly sprained shoulder, should be OK.. RB Clinton Portis suffered a bruised lower back and was kicked again in his sore shin, but is expected to be OK..
T Chris Samuels made it through the game fine on his arthritic and sprained ankle and mildly sprained knee, he should play this weekend.. T Jon Jansen continues to receive treatment on one of his broken thumbs, surgery remains a possibility in the offseason, but he will play..
S Matt Bowen has a swollen bursa sac on his knee, the swelling has moved into other parts of his leg, he is questionable..
DE Renaldo Wynn (injuries not disclosed) was said to have made it throguh the game with no issues.. DT Joe Salave'a (foot) also did not reaggravate his injury..
WR Santana Moss suffered a bruised shoulder, but is expected to be fine..
DT Ryan Boschetti has a sprained knee, missed the game on Sunday and is questionable this weekend..

The Skins placed TE Robert Johnson on IR over the weekend to make room for practice squad CB Dimitri Patterson.. Asked how Johnson wasn't on any injury report but then went to IR, Gibbs and Head athletic trainer Bubba Tyer said Johnson has an arthritic ankle and it got stepped on in practice and it "hobbled" him.. His injuries will be looked over by the league to ensure he was injured and had to be placed on IR thus to avoid any potential controversy over the Skins stealing a roster spot..

Joe Gibbs said during the Joe Gibbs show that he ate with owner Dan Snyder in the owner's box after the win on Sunday night and praised Snyder for his passion and his wherewithall to do anything financially necessitated to win.. Then Gibbs said Dan even did something that made him spend some money that "I can't talk about." He did not elaborate..

On the 1st NYG game: "I thought we were ready to play. I thought we prepared well but for some reason we got dominated."
Gibbs said he is extremely concerned about this weekend's game not just because of the result the last time the two played but due to his team's big win, reminding everyone the 36-0 loss in NY came the week after a 52-17 win over SF..

Gibbs cleared up any misunderstandings about whether he shook Bill Parcells hand after the game.. he said Parcells seemed upset as the two made their way midfield and he waved to him, it appeared as if Parcells was heading straight to the locker room, then he veered back toward midfield, where Gibbs shook his hand and told him he hoped his injured player was OK..

Gibbs was also asked about the stadium decision to start playing, "Momma's Don't let you babies grow up to be Cowboys," over the PA system during the waning moments of the win.. Gibbs appeared to have tried to signal to the people running the song to turn it off.. The only comment he gave about it was: " We want to win the right way and lose the right way."

Gibbs said the team got determined to run the ball more often and more effectively after the Oakland game where he says they regret the pass heavy game plan.. The team has rushed the ball extremely effectively ever since..

The Redskins did not practice on Monday and will not on Tuesday, Wednesday will be a long preparation day accoring to Gibbs, Thursday is expected to be normal, with Friday's practice TBA due to the short work week.. He said the extra rest is merited this time of year even with the shortened work week..

The Redskins are in the playoffs if they win their fianl two games, at worst as a wild card, at best as NFC East champ.. Should they win their final two, they would need an NYG loss at Oakland to win the East and get a first round home playoff game.. As things stand now, the Redskins would be the last team to make the playoffs.. They are tied in the standings with Minnesota, Dallas and Atlanta but hold tiebreakers over all due to their 8-2 conference record..

December 18 Redskins 35 Dallas 7

Washington beats the Cowboys 35-7, their largest margin of victory in the series ever.. Washington twice beat Dallas by 27 points, back in 1996, the final game at RFK 37-10 and 1986, a 41-14 Washington win..

The win ties the Skins in the NFC East standings with the Cowboys but gives them the playoff by way of a series sweep.. Washington hadn't swept Dallas since 1995.. The Redskins have won 3 straight and face the NYG on Satruday.. If the Skins win out, they would win the division if the Giants lose their finale as well due to a better division record, Washington would be 5-1.... If the Giants beat Oakland on the final regualr season weekend, the Redskins can only make the playoffs as one of the two wild cards..

Washington outgained Dallas 334-216 and led 28-nothing at half, Washington caused 4 Dallas turnovers and only turned it over once themselves.. Phillip Daniels had four sacks, the team finsihed with a season high 7.. Four sacks in one game ties Dexter Manley and Diron Talbert for most by a Skin in one game..

Clinton Portis had his third straight 100 plus yard game, he hadn't had back to back 100+ yard games since becoming a Skin until the Rams and Cardinals outings.. He had 112 yards on 23 carries...

Chris Cooley scored 3 touchdowns in the first half..

DT Joe Salave'a returned after missing two games with his injured foot.. DT Corenlious Griffin recorded his first interception as a Skin on Dallas's first offensive play from scrimmage...

Mark Brunnell threw for under 200 yards for the fifth straight week, but was 12-20, 163 yards and four touchdowns..

This was the most points the Skins had scored ina half (28) since their 6th game of the year against SF when they scored 35 in the first half.. This was only the 6th time this year Washington scored more then 20 points in a game this year and third time they went over 30..

G Randy Thomas will miss the rest of the season after fracturing his fibula.. he will have sugery on Monday at a Reston area Hospital and will need 3-4 months of rehab before he will be off crutches..
CB Carlos Rogers missed the game, his biceps injury was clarified, it is not just a bruise, but a torn muscle.. He does not have a tendon injury and thus he can potentially play later in the season, but his availability for the NYG game is very much up in the air..
WR James Thrash was deactivated again due to his injured hamstring, but he practcied much of last week and may be a possibility for the NYG game..
LB LaVar Arrington was inactive for a second straight week with a thigh bruise.. He is unkown for the NYG game..
S Matt Bowen was inactive due to a knee injury.. DT Ryan Boschetti was inactive dur to a sprained knee..
All other injuries incurred in the game were described as just bumps and bruises..

The Redskins signed CB Dimitri Patterson from the practice squad and placed TE Robert Johnson on IR effectivly ending his season..

December 16-- LaVar downgraded

LB LaVar Arrington returned to practice after missing Thursday's work.. He says he was able to do more in practice today then he was on Wednesday, still the team downgraded him to questionable with a bruised thigh.. Arrington wasn't sure if he'd be able to play on Sunday saying he hopes he is able to go.. he says he missed Thursday because he felt the leg started to swell up again on Thursday morning and decided to ice it down.. Joe Gibbs said this is LaVar's biggest game, he wants to play but we'll have to see.. There is a distinct possibility that he will be inactive..

CB Carlos Rogers missed practice with a biceps injury, he has not practiced all week and was downgraded to questionable..

CB Walt Harris (calf) and Shawn Springs (back/groin) both practiced for the first time this week, both remain probable for the game..

S Matt Bowen was downgraded to questionable after missing Friday's practice with a knee injury..

T Chris Samuels was held out to rest his ankle/knee, he remains probable and is expected to play..

WR James Thrash did partcipate in practice again, he is probable.. He hasn't played since the Tampa game..

All of these players are considered game time decisions..

December 15-- Corners still out, no one worried

LB Lavar Arrington was held out of Thursday's practice still dealing with a sore quad.. He declined comment about his availability for this Sunday's game with Dallas..

The Skins top 3 CB's were all held out of practice for a second straight day, Shawn Springs (back/groin) hinted he will be able to go, Carlos Rogers (biceps) joined Springs inisde for the snowy practice.. CB Walt Harris (calf) was on the field but did not participate in team drills..

S Matt Bowen (knee) and T Chris Samuels (ankle/knee) both returned to practice after missing Wednesday.,. Eevryone on the injury report remained probable for the Dallas game.. It's possible a change will come tomorrow after the final main practice of Dallas week..

Gregg Williams said he would not discuss the gameplan for the Dallas game and said he is not concerned about the health at CB saying 11 guys will take the field on Sunday.. Ryan Clark said that he belivees there has been some miscommunication about the availability of the CB's and that the team may be close to full strength.. he may have just be putting a happy face on the situation..

RB Clinton Portis did not dress up saying the weather forced him to reschedule the costume show but said he had something planned that would have been the best one yet..
Portis admitted that last year he tried very hard to prove that he was not a system guy in denver and he was pressing to make things happen to prove he wasn't a bust.. This year he said he came back determined to be more of a team leader, not worry about his stats and do everything he can to be the best all around RB for the Skins he could be.. Portis said he didn't listen very well to running back's coach Earnest byner saying he came here "thinking I knew everything," and not listening to a then first year assistant coach.. he said this year he came back and the relationship with Byner is great saying he is learning from someone who understands how to be productive within the context of the Gibbs system..
As for this stretch where he is having the most productive stretch as a Skin, he said "it's just happening for me." The O-line is doing it's job, the WR's are blocking well downfield and that the team is determined to make it happen whether it be via the run or the pass..

Ooh yeah, lots of rivalry and must win talk today as well..

The practice was moved from the afternoon to the late morning to try to avoid the bulk of the bad weather but the team did practice outside despite the snow and rain and put together a full session on the field..

December 14-- Skins Playing Injury game

Skins return to practice with numerous injuries however play a little cat and mouse game with Dallas, notorious to not say much about their injury issues.. Dallas this week listed only one player on the injury report, rookie DE Chris Canty (ankle) probable..

The Redskins listed seven: LB LaVar Arrington (thigh) did return to practice today and is probable, WR James Thrash, also returning to practice for the first time in 4 weeks (hamstring) probable.. CB Carlos Rogers (biceps), CB Shawn Springs (back/groin) and CB Walt Harris (calf) were all out of Wednesday's practice all listed however as probable.. S Matt Bowen missed practice with a bruised knee, also probable.. T Chris Samuels mildly sprained the MCL in his knee and has a sprained ankle as well (the ankle the team believes is more serious) was held out of practice but like everyone else is listed as probable..
This is the first time the Redskins sentiment about it a certain few didn't quite have the same reflection on the injury report, but it is Dallas week..

DE Phillip Daniels said that Dallas was one of the teams that max protected against Washington, he attributes this to the reason the Skins have had trouble maintaining a pass rush, he says the last few weeks when the sacks and turnovers have returned have come against teams who did not max protect.. Drew Bledsoe was on fire last week, 332 yards, 3 scores, he went 21 of 36 against the Skins in week 2 but was not sacked and had no interceptions..

Mark Brunnell reminded everyone that the Redskins offense did nothing for the game's first 56 minutes before the miracle comeback in Dallas, he believes the offensive line did not have their best day, opting not to elaborate but said he thinks the linemen would agree they have to do a better job against the Dallas front.. Brunnell did not want to be any kind of focus for the game saying "It's the Washington Redskins versus the Cowboys, we have to win." Brunnell is on pace to throw more passes this year then any year since 2000, his completion percentage four of the past five has been 64 percent or higher but he hasn't cracked 200 yards passing in five weeks, partially blamed on the depleted receiving core, and partially due to the more conservative approach in the form of run formations utilized in recent weeks..

Keyshawn Johnson says the Dallas players aren't all that caught up in the rivalry, they believe as the Redskins do that this is a do or die game.. Johnson talked a little about his career with us saying he wouldn't trade it in for anyone's, he is satisfied with the course of his NFL career, he believes he has been misjudged by the media for a number of years.. he also says he wouldn't want to play for any other coach then Bill Parcells, who he described as mean, but the type of mean that's good, the kind that makes you want to compete hard..

December 12-- Dallas Week Infirmary

Injuries galore start Dallas Week: CB Shawn Springs has an injured lower lumbar back/strained groin.. He did not want to comment on his availability this week, the team is right now calling him questionable to play against Dallas with trainers expressing a lot of apprehention about his availability..
CB Carlos Rogers suffered a badly bruised left biceps muscle.. the injury occurred in the first quarter of the AZ game.. The good news is he did not suffer any tendon damage, if so he'd have to have surgery ending his season.. He was in a sling today and is sore.. He is listed as day to day..
LB LaVar Arrington is expected to return to practice this week after missing the AZ game with a bruised thigh..
T Chris Samuels had an MRI which showed a mild sprain of the MCL in his knee.. The team said that injury wouldn't hold him out this week, but he sprained an ankle on the same play, the team is more concerned about that.. Samuels has an arthritic ankle, he likely will be limited in practice but Samuels says he intends to play on Sunday..
CB Walt Harris didn't make the trip after injuring his calf in practice last Thursday, he will be re-evaluated on Wednesday..
T Jon Jansen is suffering from some pain from one of his injured thumbs.. The break in the thumbs are now healed, however the fracture line went into a joint in his hand.. He will play through it but likely will need some form of surgery after the season to fix it..
WR Santana Moss was said to have made it through the AZ game with no problems to his tight hamstring..
WR James Thrash will take part in limited practice this week still dealing with a hamstring, he is questionable to play against Dallas..
DT Ryan Boschetti suffered a mild knee sprain..
S Matt Bowen suffered a bruised bursa sac on his knee, the swelling went down..
C Casey Rabach suffered a mildly sprained knee but is expected to be OK..
DT Joe Salave'a is expected to return to practice this week still dealing with a foot injury..
DT Cedric Killings could have played this last weekend with a groin injury so he should practice fully this week..
QB Mark Brunnell injured his thumb, he is said to be OK..
G Randy Thomas has some knee soreness, but should be OK for the Cowboys game..

The Skins are not currently entertaining the idea of bringing anyone in to work at CB despite the possibility of not having their 3 top CB's.. The Skins do have two CB's on their practice squad, Dimitri Patterson who was active one week when Walt Harris and carlos Rogers were out.. Also, Curry Burns..

DECEMBER 11-- Skins 17 AZ 13

The Skins win on an Antonio Brown 91 yard kickoff return for a touchdown, his first as a Redskin.. Brown was cut, although he likes to refer to his new beginning as just another opportunity after a week one fumble against the Bears.. he was brought back after a rash of injuries to the WR core and Ladell Betts.. Obviously Brown was still returning kicks despite Betts first game in a month..

T Chris Samuels sprained the MCl in his right knee and sprained an ankle on the same play.. he says he is playing against Dallas, a more detailed report on his condition will be provided tomorrow..
CB Shawn Springs injured his back on a tackle of Anquan Boldin from behind.. he left the game, returned, then injured his groin and was held out for most of the fourth quarter.. he will be re-evaluated tomorrow as well.. No other injuries were listed..

DT Joe Salave'a was inactive due to his foot injury, CB Walt Harris did not make the trip after injuring his ankle in Thursday's practice.. LB LaVar Arrington stayed in Washington as well with a bruised thigh..

The Redskins got four first half turnovers yet only ended up scoring 3 points.. In fact there were seven total first half turnovers including 3 Mark Brunnell interceptions in the red zone.. Of all the turnovers the two teams combined for 6 points off them.. The Skins trailed 10-3 at half..

Clinton portis scored on a 15 yard touchdown run using Mike Sellars's jersey as leverage to keep on his feet while he skirted down the sideline.. Portis now has 8 rushing touchdowns this year, he finished over 100 yards rushing for the fourth time in five games.. The scoring drive started the second half and ate up 7:40 of the clock..

The crowd was full of Redskin fans in fact the stands behind the Redskins bench seemed always entirely Redskin fans.. At points in the second half, the crowd was noticeably loud when the Skins asked for them to cheer.. Some started chanting "We want Dallas" at the end of the game..

Sean taylor had his best game as a Redskin.. he had a first half intercpetion, forced one fumble, was part of another hit that cuased a second fumble awarded to Lemar Marshall and joined Carlos Rogers on a 4th and 2 to stop JJ Arrington on what ended up being the Cardinals final offensive play inside the Skins 30..
Washington converted a 3rd and seven running with Portis with just over a minute to go to allow the Skins to sit on the ball and run the clock out..

The Redskins had another odd 2 minute drill at the end of the half calling a timeout on an 8 yard pass reception by taylor Jacobs despite him going out of bounds and stopping the clock.. the Skins then allowed the clock to run after a 5 yard gain where the receiver was tackled in bounds.. Ultimately the Skins ended up punting..

The Redskins held the Cardinals to 60+ yards rushing, Arizona has yet to crack 100 yards on the ground as a team in any game this season..

December 9-- Lavar Out, Moss In

LB LaVar Arrington remains listed as questionable but will likely be out for the Cardianls game unable to practice throughout the week thanks to a bruised thigh.. Fluid and blood has built up in Arrington's leg throughout the week limiting the range of motion severely..
This comes the same day Arrington getting into a car accident, he said he hydroplaned on some black ice and that he is fine but the car is banged up..
Asked about him playing next week if this team is 7-6, he said only "death: would prevent him from not being out there..

WR James Thrash will not play for a third straight week due to a hamstring injury..

DT Joe Salave'a did not practice on Friday but there is a possibility he will return, it's a game time decision.. Salave'a kidded that tearing the plantar faciitis a couple of weeks back saved the Skins from having to do surgery on him and in turn has alleviated the pain to the point where he feels better then he has since the KC game..

DT Cedric Killings is available to return after missing last week with a groin injury, he is a game time decision.. DT Cornelious Griffin made it through the week and will play..

WR Santana Moss practiced for the first time this week on Friday and is a go for the AZ game, asked how he did, he said fine, when we inquired again, he started moving his legs up and down quickly saying, "is this what you need to see?"


CB Walt Harris was added to the injury list injuring his ankle and is questionable..

December 8th-- Moss still out

WR Santana Moss missed his second straight day of practcie with a hamstring injury, he pulled himself from practice on Wednesday and continues to be coy about how much pain he is in.. The team continues to list him as probable..

LB LaVar Arrington missed Thursday's practice as well dealing with a bruised thigh, Gregg Williams said he will see if LaVar can practice on Friday before determining his availability for Sunday.. He remains questionable..

DT Joe Salave'a (foot) and WR James Thrash (hamstring) both missed practice as well, both remain questionable..

All others on the injury report, T Chris Samuels, T Jon Jansen, DL Cedric Killings, S Ryan Clark and DT Cornelious Griffin all returned to practice after missing Wednesday, their status on the injury report went unchanged..

RB Clinton Portis wore a yellow wig, giant heart sunglasses, something to cover his front teeth to make them appear rotten and a giant Skins jacket.. His latest character was "Bro Sweets," he says he is all about candy and cash.. Helping him this week was KR Antonio Brown who was hiding behind Portis so that from the front you could only see his hands, he was holding some fake bling bling, inlcuding a giant faux-diamond encrusted money sign charm..
As usual, the session with Portis had little if any real answers to anything.. He said more yards equals more cash and that's what he is concerned with..

Gregg Williams says teams have been much more conservative in their approach against his defense then a year ago, he also has limited the ammount of corner blitzes then he did a year ago, thus Shawn Springs is being brought on blitz packages much less frequently.. He says the return of Cornelious Griffin makes him a better coach..
This is at the very least the 3rd time the Redskins defense will have faced the then top ranked pass offense.. Williams says getting Kurt Warner out of rhythm is the key, it doesn't necessarily mean being able to hit him, which is preferred, but Williams knows Warner won't hold the ball as long as some others, it's about getting him to move his feet and not feel comfortable in the pocket and breaking up the timing of his WR's routes.. Anquan Bolden is 8 yards from 1000, Larry Fitzgerald has already passed 1000 yards for the season.. The Cardianals however have yet to rush for over 100 yards in a game, the worst rated run game in the league..

Kurt Warner's wife by the way is due with twins any day now, he says he is playing no matter what Sunday unless the birth takes place during the 3 hours the Skins and Cardinals are playing..

December 7-- Moss's hamstring hurts

WR Santana Moss left practice early with tightness in his hamstring, he didn't want to overly comment about it but said it was just tight and that he knows how to take care of his body and that bhe should be fine.. Joe Gibbs did not express major concern about it and the team is listing Moss as probable (hamstring)

Other injuries: S Ryan Clark (sprained ankle) did not practice is probable, LB LaVar Arrington (bruised thigh) did not practice, questionable, DT Joe Salave'a (foot) did not practice, questionable, DT Cornelious Griffin (hip), did not practice, probable, T Chris Samuels (knee) rested and kept out of practice, probable, WR James Thrash did take part in minor portions of practice, did not take part in full team practice but the door was opened a little bit for a possible return this weekend, his is listed as questionable (hamstring), DL Cedric Killings (groin) did not practice, questionable..

RB Ladell Betts did practice and was not listed thus clearing his return for the first time since the Tampa game..

AZ injuries: G Elton Brown (knee) doubtful, K Neil Rackers (calf) doubtful, if Rackers doesn't kick then former Skin Nick Novak would face his ex-team, CB Eric Green (groin) probable, CB Antrell Rolle (knee) probable, RB Marcell Shipp (neck) probable, RB James Jackson (hamstring) probable, G Jeremy Bridges (ankle) probable..

Mark Brunnell laughed off a question when he was asked about being rated tops in the league, he quipped "in age or fumbles?" It's actually interception percentage, he and Byron Leftwich have fewest interceptions among starters with 5.. Brunnell said he has learned to become a better decision maker throwing the ball away when he has to, but it isn't his favored thing to do but he doesn't want to throw picks and hurt the team.. Brunell said the crowd booed him at one game where he correctly made the right decision to throw a ball away when they thought he should have talen a shot..

Randy Thomas says he believed Santana Moss was a top 3 receiver when he was in NY but that the Jets didn't use him correctly and that injuries hindered him.. He said he had no doubt that Moss would become what he has here..

Kurt Warner told us he believes his long term future is with the Cardinals though no one in AZ has told him that.. The Cards have thrown for over 300 yards in 4 of their last 5, Warner was obviously very happy with the young tandem of Anquan Bolden and Larry Fitzgerald players he describes as very different then the Rams tandem he had success with, but a core that might be the best he's been with..
Warner is awaiting the birth of twins which could happen anytime within the next two weeks.. He says he is playing Sunday no matter what unless the birth happens at game time..

December 5-- Focus on AZ if that's possible

Injuries: Lavar Arrington has a bruised thigh, should be able to practice this week.., Ryan Clark sprained an ankle, but was decsribed by trainers as likely to be able to practice this week, Cornelious Griffin feels better this Monday then he did a week ago and should be fine, Cedric Killings groin injury will likely keep him out of practice this week, Joe Salave'a is doubtful to play at AZ, they will increase his activity this week to see how much pain he can tolerate, Ladell betts is expected to return to practice this week with the goal of playing on Sunday, James Thrash is doubtful to play against AZ, he has been described as improved and the team doesn't want to rule him out but it is unlikely, Ade Jimoh and Sean taylor each have minor ankle injuries but are expected to practice..

Joe Gibbs was proud that the defense did not allow an "explosion play" against St. Louis.. That is a play of 20 yards of more, it is the first time since his retunr that the D limited a team to none in a game..

Gibbs said his team does not scoreboard watch during late games, he said there were no TV's in the locker room prior to the STL game, he admits he has checked out the strength of schedules of the other NFC teams but said he doesn't waste energy worrying about everyone else.. "It's just the Cardinals this week, there is nothing else we are going to talk about," a pre-emptive strike against talk of a big Dallas game should tghe team win against AZ..

The Redskins are not considering picking up released WR Peerless Price, Gibbs said the team lloked into it but believes he would not be a good fit for the team.. As for the WR's in general, he described the situation as "something we have to live with."

December 4 Redskins 24 Rams 9

The Redskins have 2 100+ yard rushers for the first time since the Houston game in 2002 (Kenny Watson and Ladell Betts) in Rock cartwright, 9-118 and Clinton Portis 27-136.. It was cartwright's first ever 100+ yard rush day.. Portis scored two touchdowns inclduing a 47 yarder, his longest of the season..
The Redskins rushed for more yards then the Rams gained in total offense..
It was the fith straight road win for Washington in the series, the Skins have still never lost to the Rams franchise in St. Louis..

The Skins won the turnover battle for only the third time this year with a fumble recovery by renaldo Wynn and an interception by carlos Rogers, that's one in consecutive games... Rogers has taken over for Walt harris as full time starting Cb opposite Shawn Springs playing the bulk of the snaps..
Warrick Holdman played for the first time in weeks on one 3-4 set and while Lavar Arrington sat out a series at the end of the first half.. Arrington has a quad injury but played the seocnd half with it..
Other injuries: Ryan Clark (ankle), Taylor Jacobs (ankle), Ade Jimoh (ankle), all are not currently considered serious..
Clinton Portis bruised his shin,a n injury he has dealt with for weeks, he also "had to get the cobwebs out" after cracking on Ryan Pickett who weighs more then 100 pounds then him..
LB Lemar Marshall said he only had the wind knocked out of him at the end of the game and he is OK..

Arrington was in shock that Ryan Fitzpatrick did not slide on a first quarter play where Arrington held up.. He told me "next time I won't let that happen. didn't hit him because i didn't want to hurt the team and take a penalty, if he doesn't have respect for an NFl linebacker coming at him he'll learn soon."

Santana Moss said he "just lost it," on the field goal drive where he took a 15 yard penalty at the Rams five overly complainig to the refs, he bvelieves the Redskins take many calls that are much less flagrant then the contact he took in the end zone and voiced it to the refs but did it to an extent where they penalized him and he apologized for it..

Moss and Jacobs comined for 4 catches, the only receptions by the receiving core..

Most players said they expected the team to play hard and were not worried about anyone mailing it in despite what's happened the three previous weeks.. The modd was high as the team realizes a win next week allows them a shot at the two division teams in front of them both at home..

Mark brunnell said the safety play was something that just came with experience.. he called it a play that should not happen but was happy with the way the team responded and was able to seize control of the game..
The game clinching drive was started by 8 consecutive runs, the touchdown pass to Cooley was a play he said they run a lot but disguised the formation.. Cooley is the first Redskins tight end to surpass 50 catches in a seasn Jerry Smith who had 54 in 1969..

December 2-- More D-line issues

DL Cedric Killings strained his groin in Thursday's practice and is listed as doubtful for the game against STL.. DT Joe Salave'a did not practice Friday and remains doubtful for the game Sunday.. The defense rotated a number of players next to Cornelious Griffin who was said to have made it throguh the week well after his first game in a month.. Expect a heavy rotation including Demetric Evans, Ryan Boschetti and others as the team tries to find some consistency on their D-line..

RB Ladell Betts remains listed as questionable but Joe Gibbs said he does not expect to have him Sunday when the Skins play the Rams.. He did not practice on Friday.. This would be his third straight missed game thanks to a sprained knee..

December 1-- Williams is here to stay

Gregg Williams admitted that he declined two potential head coaching interviews last offseason (undisclosed which teams) saying that one of them he had a gut feeling he would have gotten had he gone on the interview.. He remains happy in Washington and went on to say that you we should not be surprised if he declines interviews again this offseason again because of how much he enjoys his situation in Washington.. he continues to tout learning from Joe Gibbs discussing how satisified he is that the locker room has not splintered into finger pointers for the reasons behind a 3 game losing skid.. Williams said he has never had a player show up late to his meetings, that this is among the best groups he has ever worked with, that they remain confident in their system and many were working on their off day this week to game plan STL.. On Dan Snyder: Williams said the owner has treated him like "gold" since he has been here.. He also added that he's at a point in his career where he does not care what anyone thinks including his employer but says calls this one of the best situations he's ever worked in.. He credits Gibbs for being able to keep the team unified.. he talked about the sitaution in Houston when he was on the staff that had the infamous sideline fight between Buddy Ryan and Kevin Gilbride and vowed after watching that that he would never allow any team he was coaching have an incident like this..

As for the defense: Williams said his team did not tackle well at the end of the game, on the LT game winning TD run in OT, he said at the point of attack the Redskins had done everything they were supposed to do, Marcus Washington was expected to be in a little better position then he was, but the bottom line was that LT needs to be tackled on that play.. As for the yards and points scored on his D in the second halves in general, he threw out how many series his team was on the field, didn't make it an excuse, but still made it clear he doesn't totally fault his unit for the blown leads..

Clinton Portis was dressed in a black wig, carnival glasses, fake disgusting teeth and a tie.. he called himself Revrend Gotta change with the theme being "things have to change aorund here." Portis said he wasn't going to dress up this week but his teammates urged him to do so to keep morale up, and he obliged..
Portis blamed penalties and ref calls for the teams inability to close out games.. He said he still believes this team can be a ball control offense, Santana Moss didn't disagree with this only to say he believes the team needs to "mix it up" more in order to avoid 4th quarter meltdowns.. Moss said he has gotten defensive attention before in his career but never as much as this thanks to his string start to the season and the Skins injury issues at WR..

Injury update: Everyone on the Redskins injured list practiced except Joe Salave'a (foot) doubtful and James Thrash (hamstring) who was downgraded today, he is now officially out for the second straight week..
RB Ladell Betts did practice for the first time since spraining a knee in the Tampa game, he remians questionable..
Rams: T Alex Barron (thumb) is now officially out.. T Orlando Pace missed a second straight day of practice with a hamstring/hip flexor injury, so it remains possible that STL will be without two tackles this weekend..