Redskins' emphasis is on starting over

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By David Elfin

Refreshed after last week's bye, the Washington Redskins hope to push the reset button on their horror of a season Sunday at Atlanta, the first of five straight opponents with winning records.

While the bye was a much-needed breather after a tumultuous first seven weeks, the road gets considerably more challenging for the Redskins (2-5). Their three NFC East rivals have five wins apiece, and the Falcons are a formidable foe against whom to begin a renaissance.

"I never felt like this," said cornerback Carlos Rogers, who is part of a defense that's just 17 yards a game from being the best in the NFL. "You don't get the full joy out of [ranking in a tie for fourth] the way our season going. All the controversy that been going on around here. There was only two [wins]. We got the win or we [needed] the win to keep Coach [Jim] Zorn. There's always things like that that come in your mind when you win."

Defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin has a different perspective on the season's first seven games.

"We won the game," Griffin said of escapes against St. Louis and Tampa Bay. "You want to play good, sound football, but the name of the game is winning. You play to win. If we get just one more point than they get, I don't really care how we do it."

That's not the case for Casey Rabach, the center for an offense that ranks 24th in yards, has yet to score more than 17 points in a game and will play Sunday without tight end Chris Cooley. Rabach, whose line has lost left tackle Chris Samuels and right guard Randy Thomas to season-ending injuries, said winning ugly is no fun.

"I know it's hard to win in this league, but it would be nice to get a solid win that you could feel good about yourself," he said. "The bye week was a nice break to get away from football, get away from all the drama that's been around this building. But the reality is, 2-5 is where we're at."

Perhaps because the defense is thriving, Griffin and end Andre Carter are more optimistic that change is coming soon - despite the daunting task of playing Atlanta (4-3), Denver (6-1), Dallas (5-2), Philadelphia (5-2) and New Orleans (7-0) in the next five weeks.

"If you don't have faith, then you shouldn't be able to play this game," Carter said.

Said Griffin: "We have to look forward. We've had good practices. Nobody's down. The past is gone. The future's ahead of us. You got to try to start over. We start with the Falcons. Win this game, and see how we go from there."

The defense has been mostly successful but has forced an NFL-low seven turnovers. Cornerback DeAngelo Hall has all three of the team's interceptions; Rogers, safety Chris Horton and defensive tackles Albert Haynesworth and Lorenzo Alexander have recovered a fumble each.

"We have the numbers, but we don't have numbers in areas that change games," secondary coach Jerry Gray said. "That's our big goal: We've got to get more turnovers."

There was more work needed on offense during the bye. In his debut as play caller, a 27-17 loss to Philadelphia, consultant Sherm Lewis turned in similar results to his predecessor. Quarterback Jason Campbell was sacked six times, and running back Clinton Portis averaged 3.1 yards a carry.

"All season, we're just trying to get on track," Portis said. "We know... we're not putting up points and that the offense is not being productive."

With 490 rushing yards and just one touchdown on the ground, Portis is on pace for the worst full season of his eight-year career. But he maintained that the season's not over.

"The same way we got into this mess, we can get ourselves out of this mess," he said. "I feel like if I executed the way I did in the past, I don't think that we would be 2-5. Everybody has to look at themselves because we're 2-5. It's just coming together as a team.

"I think it's a good thing that we have a tough schedule. We always come out and play well in big games. You don't have to worry about the players not showing up because it's a big game. If you don't show up, then you are going to get embarrassed in the game."

The Redskins are getting awfully used to getting embarrassed this year.