Sports Talk: Redskins Running In Place

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JOHN RIGGINS. EARNEST BYNER. AND FOR ONE crazy night, even Timmy Smith.

The Redskins are used to riding running backs to victory, and Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts seem more than capable of keeping up that tradition.

But so far this season, Washington has been winning more with defensive grit and timely passing instead of a glut of handoffs and a pile of dust - er, shredded turf.

The Redskins (3-1) have posted 200 rushing yards over the last two games, but those come on 62 carries. That's just 3.2 yards per attempt for a squad that prides itself on its ground game. Any other year, things would be looking worrisome, especially when you add a Portis fumble last week and Betts' getting stuffed on the goal line against the Giants in Week 3.

Still, the Redskins are plenty pleased with last week's 34-point performance against Detroit. In fact, Jason Campbell's mastery in the passing game (23 for 29 for 248 yards and NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors) may be the first sign on the road to a more balanced, effective offense than we've seen in the second Joe Gibbs era.

Still, the offensive line knows the numbers could be better.

"We want to be running the ball better than we are, but we're not going to get the six-man boxes like we did last year now that teams are trying to scheme against our running game," offensive tackle Todd Wade said. "We can do a lot better."

The stats are in part a by-product of Wade's and guard Jason Fabini's replacing the injured Jon Jansen and Randy Thomas, respectively, on the right side of the offensive line.

With teams already thinking run-first against the Redskins, Washington stands to face even more pressure up front. The line has responded in pass protection, though, allowing just two sacks in the last two games (both against New York).

"Sometimes teams can take away from the run for a period of time," guard Pete Kendall said. "Instead of focusing on that negative, you focus on how Jason's played. ... He's hurt teams who put that extra guy down in the box."

» WHAT TO WATCH FOR:

When the Packers have the ball:
QB Brett Favre vs. S Sean Taylor

It's been a revival year for Brett Favre, who has a passer rating of 94.7, his best in more than a decade. The 38-year-old quarterback has completed a career-high 67.1 percent of his passes this year on the way to a 4-1 record. "He is probably the closest thing to being a god in that area," Redskins lineman and former Wisconsin native Casey Rabach said.

But with the second-worst running attack in the NFL, the weight is all on Favre's shoulders, and the gunslinger still has a tendency to throw a few picks, like he did in last week's loss to the Bears. The Redskins pass defense thoroughly dominated Jon Kitna and the Lions last week, and Green Bay similarly relies on its quarterback to move the chains. Can Favre come through?

When the Redskins have the ball:
DE Aaron Kampman vs. OT Todd Wade

Kampman had a breakout season last year. In addition to posting a career-high 89 tackles, the Packers' left defensive end put up 15.5 sacks, nine more than his previous high. It looks like that was no fluke. The six-year pro is dominating O-lines once again. Through five games, he has 20 tackles and three sacks, and he has at least a half a sack in each of the last four games.

He'll be going up against Todd Wade, who has filled in admirably in Jon Jansen's absence. Wade has been as good at tackle as he was bad at guard during the preseason. Quarterback Jason Campbell has been sacked five times this season, better than 23 signal-callers in the league, and he wasn't sacked at all last week against the Lions.

» X-FACTORS:

Redskins WR Keenan McCardell
In his first game with the Redskins, McCardell, 37, showed he can still get open, catching two passes for 39 yards. Jason Campbell has proved he's willing to throw to a variety of receivers, and the fact that McCardell caught two passes shows he has a good rapport with the young quarterback.

Don't expect him to go deep down the sideline — that's why the team has Santana Moss — but the savvy veteran should catch a couple of key first downs and help move the chains.

Packers RB Vernand Morency
Rookie Brandon Jackson was not able to shoulder the load in the first three weeks of the season, rushing for just 97 yards on 38 carries. Morency's average yards per carry is better (45 yards on 10 carries plus 81 receiving yards on 10 receptions), but he still hasn't found the end zone.

Still, he showed some speed last week against the Bears, breaking one run for 15 yards. Green Bay will want Morency to take some of that pressure off of Favre.

Written by Express contributor Eric Brandner and Ian Herbert
Photos by John McDonnell/The Washington Post and Matthew Stockman/Getty Images