Cartwright out against Patriots

Don’t look for Rock Cartwright, the NFC’s kickoff return leader, tomorrow against the New England Patriots. The Redskins’ sixth-year player, who strained a quadriceps while returning a kickoff 80 yards in last week’s 21-19 victory over Arizona, tried to practice yesterday for the first time this week but couldn’t.

“I just didn’t have my burst,” Cartwright lamented. “I don’t want to out there and not be able to produce … and tear it to the bone and be out for the year. I think I have to sit this one out.”

Ladell Betts, Washington’s leading kickoff returner in 2004 and 2005, will likely replace Cartwright.

Center Casey Rabach (groin) and strongside linebacker Marcus Washington (hamstring) both practiced for the third straight day and will return after missing the past one and two games, respectively.

Cornerbacks Carlos Rogers (knee) and Fred Smoot (hamstring), who both had a full practice for the first time this week, are probable.

The other Moss

During Santana Moss’ first two seasons in Washington, he helped turn Randy Moss into “the other Moss.”

Santana had 139 catches, 2,273 yards and 15 touchdowns while Randy, who had been all-world in Minnesota, produced just 102 catches, 1,558 yards and 11 touchdowns for Oakland.

However, Randy’s trade to New England has turned him back into a superstar. He leads the NFL with 732 yards and 10 touchdowns and is fifth with 44 catches.

In two fewer games, Santana has 30 fewer catches, 525 fewer yards and 10 fewer touchdowns. All of Washington’s wideouts combined have 45 catches. 723 yards and no touchdowns.

Can’t forget the horror

The Redskins knew they were in for a rough 2006 season when the Patriots humiliated them 41-0 during preseason. New England had 30 first downs and 464 yards to eight and 154 for Washington.

“They handled us pretty good,” Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said. “So yeah, you go back and look at some of that. It was preseason, so they’re not going to do a lot of fancy stuff, but I think what they did you can study personnel-wise.”

The upset of 2003

Offensive tackle Chris Samuels is the only healthy Redskins starter who played in Washington’s 20-17 upset of injury-riddled New England in Week 4 of 2003. The Patriots, who had 11 ailing starters, including quarterback Tom Brady (concussion), set an NFL record by winning their next 21 straight games, including Super Bowl XXXVIII.

The Redskins ran for 119 yards on 29 carries and received touchdowns from Betts and Cartwright, then backups to Trung Canidate.

“It was a hard-fought game, and we ran the ball extremely well,” Samuels said. “So hopefully we can run the ball extremely well again.”

That would differ from the past five games in which the Redskins failed to average as many as 4 yards a carry in any of them, bottoming out at 2.6 a carry last week against Arizona.

No betting man

Told that the Redskins are 6-0 against the Patriots since 1972 and that Washington is the only team that Brady hasn’t beaten, Gibbs said: “How much money are you going to put on that? I don’t think you’ll be betting a lot of money on us.”

Red Sox or Patriots?

The Patriots, who won three of the past six Super Bowls, are perfect. So is second-ranked Boston College. The Red Sox are two wins away from another World Series title. And the Celtics’ trio of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are on the cover of next week’s Sports Illustrated.

So who is Boston’s favorite team?

“Right now, you have to put the Red Sox as sort of the main attraction, but I don’t think you have much of a dropoff [to the Patriots],” said Redskins guard Pete Kendall, a native of Weymouth, Mass. and a Boston College alum. “It’s a pro sports town. As well as my Eagles are doing, the attention is clearly going to be on the Red Sox and the Patriots.”

Linebacker Mike Vrabel has played in New England for seven seasons and started on all three Patriots championship teams, but he agreed.

“The Red Sox will continue to be [the talk of the town], which is fine,” Vrabel said. “You drop the kids off at school, and everyone’s got a smile on their face.”