LANDOVER, Md. (AP) -Halfway through the season, Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell has yet to throw a touchdown pass to a wide receiver.
“I wish he could do that for another week,” Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid said. “And then I wish him the best of luck after that.”
The Redskins will try to erase that dubious mark on their slate on Sunday against the Eagles, if only because they’re sick of hearing about it. They’re the only team whose wideouts have yet to find the end zone, an unusual accomplishment even the bad teams avoided long ago.
“We’re going to get some. There ain’t no going to be no ‘one.’ We’re going to get ‘some,”’ Washington receiver Santana Moss said. “It’s going to come. It’s nothing to beat ourselves up about. Every week we’re hearing this stuff.”
The receiving corps is thin and unhealthy. Moss had a groin injury earlier this season and was hampered this week in practice by a bruised heel. Antwaan Randle El is still dealing with a hamstring he strained last month on a play in which he was chased down at the 1-yard line. All the other receivers on the roster have combined for only nine catches.
“It is a little surprising,” Randle El said. “Nonetheless, we’re 5-3. If we were sitting here at 3-5, then I would really have a problem with it.”
Instead, the Eagles are the 3-5 team, and they’re coming off a 21-point loss to Dallas that has fans openly questioning the futures of Reid and quarterback Donovan McNabb. McNabb would happily trade any of his six TD passes to wideouts for a ticket out of last place in the NFC East.
“Stats is something people can go ‘Ooh, ahh,’ about,” McNabb said. “But when you have a winning record, that’s all that matters. You can pass for a million yards, but if your winning percentage is low and you’re not going to playoffs every year, who cares?”
In recent years, Eagles-Redskins games have usually been tight, and they’ve usually been won by the Eagles, who usually are the team ahead in the standings. With Reid dealing with family problems and McNabb looking over his shoulder at rookie Kevin Kolb, the defending division champs need to show they still have some bite.
“I enjoy challenges and look forward to kind of answering some of the questions the critics may have,” McNabb said. “That’s what motivates me each week, and I’ll be truly motivated coming into this game.”
The Redskins aren’t any easier to figure. They’ve looked truly mediocre for most of the season – and needed overtime to beat the weak New York Jets last week – yet they’ve won enough close games to put them in the early playoff chase.
The win at the Meadowlands last week was ground-based. Clinton Portis was so pumped over his 196-yard performance that he dressed in a costume Thursday for the first time this year, posing as a dance instructor who teaches players such as Moss and Randle El how to celebrate.
But first, they’ll need to reach the end zone.
“I could just go out there and say, ‘Let’s throw the receivers the ball a million times until I get a touchdown,”’ Moss said. “Then you’ll have so much coverage back there they’ll make sure we won’t score a touchdown. We’re out to win games, and that’s the most important thing.”
Add A Comment