Redskins prepare big test
LANDOVER, Md. – Shaun Alexander has straight A’s on his running back report card three games into the Seattle Seahawks’ season. Now the fourth-period bell is sending him to the classroom of the Washington Redskins’ defense, the NFL equivalent of the mean teacher who refuses to grade on a curve.
“I was always the kid who loved taking tests because I wanted to see how smart I was, to see if I had the goods,” Alexander said. “That’s how this team is offensively. We love playing against good teams to see how good we are. They are good. They are really good. It is going to be exciting to see how good we are.”
He should find out when the teams meet today. The Redskins are allowing 2.8 yards per rush, exactly half of what Alexander is used to. His 5.6-yard average leads the league, and his 140-yard effort against Arizona last week was the 24th 100-yard game of his career.
The Redskins? They haven’t allowed a team to rush for 100 yards in seven straight games, the longest active streak in the NFL and a source of pride for assistant coach Gregg Williams.
“Right now, Shaun’s on fire. He’s really playing well,” Williams said. “We’ve got our work cut out for us. Defensively, our pride is that we’ve got to come to every ballgame and play ‘lights out’ – the way we do against most of the opponents.”
Alexander ran for four touchdowns for the Seahawks (2-1) in the 37-12 victory over the Cardinals. The Redskins (2-0), coming off a bye, have allowed only two touchdowns all season – a necessary accomplishment given their lack of offense. If Washington is to go 3-0 for the first time since 1991, the season of its last Super Bowl title, Alexander needs to be stopped.
“If there’s a hole, and you have some type of mishap in our defensive scheme, he’s going to see it,” defensive end Renaldo Wynn said. “Nine times out of 10 he’s going to hit that weakness in the defense.”
Looking at Alexander’s numbers with some interest is his Washington counterpart, Clinton Portis.
Portis has twice in his career put on a boxer’s championship belt after a game and proclaimed himself the best back in the NFL, the last time when he outrushed Tiki Barber 148-38 in a victory over the New York Giants last year. A head-to-head matchup against Alexander is another stage that could bring out Portis the Showman.
“Most of the time in this league, whoever ends up winning the rushing battle ends up winning the game,” Portis said, “so it’s a thought that’s always in the back of your mind.”
Portis, though, is starting from behind because of a suspect supporting cast. Alexander had four TDs rushing last week; Portis hasn’t had four in his last 13 games. The Redskins didn’t run a single play from the red zone in their 14-13 Monday night victory over Dallas, although Portis hopes the two long passes to Santana Moss that won the game will finally open up things for a running game.
“Now you know you’ve got to cover downfield,” Portis said.
Seattle is traditionally not a good road team, and a 1 p.m. East Coast start time is never good news for a West Coast team. Alexander said he doesn’t care because his sleeping pattern is already askew with the recent arrival of his baby girl. Besides, any cross-country trip helps him gets the national attention he occasionally feels is missing.
“It is bittersweet,” he said. “There are times where you will see a cool commercial and you are like, ‘Dang, that would have been sweet if they would have shown my stuff in there.’ That is about as far as it gets.”