REDSKINS VS SEAHAWKS PREVIEW

Saturday, January 14, 2006, 4:30 p.m. ET
Washington Redskins (11-6)
at
Seattle Seahawks (13-3)

The Seahawks will be out to avenge one of their two regular season losses when they host the Redskins on Saturday. Washington stole a victory back in week four when fill-in kicker Nick Novack booted a 39-yard field goal in overtime to give his squad a 20-17 win at home. Unlike the previous meeting, Seattle will be the rested team. The Redskins had a bye in week three, but this time the Seahawks are fresh off a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

When the Redskins have the ball: Ideally, the Redskins would like to give Clinton Portis 20-plus carries, just as he did when he took 25 carries for 90 yards back in week four. However, the masked avenger missed playing time last week while nursing dual shoulder injuries. Given the way Mark Brunell has been playing lately, the Redskins will need Portis and his backfield mates to move the ball in order to win on the road. One of Clinton's shoulders is still sore, but he will start on Saturday. If he should suffer a setback, it would mean more carries for backup tailbacks Ladell Betts and Rock Cartwright.

As much as the Redskins want to run the ball, they will have a hard time doing so against Mike Holmgren's defense. The Seahawks have held their last five opponents to an average of 63 rushing yards. Even more impressively, only one opposing running back scored a rushing touchdown in Seattle all season. Thus, fantasy owners should expect no more than 75 yards from Portis, and an end zone visit is unlikely.

It's hard to get excited about Brunell this week despite his previous success (226 yards and two touchdowns) against the Seattle defense. The last he passed for more than 200 yards in a game was way back in mid-November. Granted, he's had a couple of decent performances since then, but for the most part he's been ineffective, which was certainly the case last week against the Buccaneers.

To expect Brunell to top the 200-yard mark this weekend would be more foolish than wasting three hours of your life watching the People's Choice Awards. Sandra Bullock is America's favorite actress? Next you're going to tell us that "Hill Street Blues" is America's favorite television drama. The only real hope Brunell has of putting up big numbers is if the Seahawks have more injury issues in the secondary. Unfortunately for Mark, cornerbacks Marcus Trufant and Andre Dyson have been practicing this week and are slated to start on Saturday.

Although we're not expecting a great yardage performance from the Redskins signal caller, it wouldn't surprise us if he threw a pair of touchdown passes. As we mentioned, the Seahawks have held all but one running back out of the end zone on their home turf this year, meaning Mark might get a chance to throw inside the red zone. He tossed a one-yard touchdown to Robert Royal, and a four-yard scoring strike to Mike Sellers in the last meeting between these teams, so don't be surprised if he shows more love to the H-backs this week.

Another target could be tight end Chris Cooley, who had four grabs for 61 yards back in week four. However, even Cooley admits that opponents have focused on shutting him down ever since he scored three touchdowns against the Cowboys back in week 15. "I've had a lot more attention since the Dallas game as far as everything goes," Cooley told the Washington Post this week.

Santana Moss put up a respectable six grabs for 87 yards against the Seahawks in week four. However, he disappeared when it mattered most, as Brunell never threw his way when the team was inside the 10-yard line. Moss is always a deep-ball threat, but the longest touchdown the Seahawks surrendered to a wide receiver at home this year was an 18-yard scoring strike. In other words, we do not expect Moss to beat the secondary for a long score. As usual, he is the only Washington wideout worth mentioning.

Kicker John Hall booted multiple field goals only twice in 10 games this season, so pencil him in for one trey at the most.

When the Seahawks have the ball: Although most eyes will be focused on Shaun Alexander, we believe the player to watch will be Matt Hasselbeck, who passed for a solid 26-of-38 for 242 yards and a touchdown back in week four.

Although the Bald Bomber is 0-2 in the playoffs, he has turned in a pair of impressive performances. He passed for 305 yards against the Packers in 2003, and 341 yards and two scores against the Rams last year. So even though the Seahawks lost both contests, it wasn't due to poor play on Hasselbeck's part. Granted, Packers cornerback Al Harris picked off a pass and returned it for a touchdown in overtime, but it was one of only two picks Elizabeth's brother-in-law was tagged for in the two playoff games.

Matt will have his work cut out for him this week when he faces a defense that ceded multiple touchdown passes only twice all season. That being said, defensive coordinator Gregg Williams' squad has given up an average of 222 passing yards in their last five games. As such, fantasy owners should expect roughly 225 yards and at least one score from Hasselbeck on Saturday.

Alexander wasn't so great against the Redskins in the last meeting. Granted, he took 20 carries for 98 yards and a score, but those or mere mortal numbers via Shaun's lofty standards. Expect similar numbers this week when he faces a defense that has not allowed an opposing running back to reach paydirt in six straight games. The Redskins have ceded an average of 82 rushing yards during those same contests. This is Alexander we're talking about, so he should at least flirt with the century mark again and find the end zone once.

The last game Darrell Jackson played in prior to undergoing knee surgery was the week four tilt against Washington. Although team officials believe he played the game with torn meniscus in his right knee, he still had seven grabs for 55 yards and a score. Given that he found the end zone on a bad knee, we have a feeling that he'll do so again this week. Yes, his knee is still tender, but he will be lining up across from former teammate Shawn Springs, the Redskins cornerback who sat out last week with a groin injury.

We're also expecting a solid outing from Bobby Engram, who dropped a potential game-tying touchdown pass during the closing seconds of the playoff game against the Rams last year. Engram will do his best to make up for that drop when he faces a defense that let him catch nine balls for 106 yards back in week four. Engram set season-high marks for receptions and yards during that game. He hasn't come close to matching that production since then, so don't be surprised if he fails to top the 100-yard mark this time around.

Joe Jurevicius remains a scoring threat as the team's No. 3 receiver. However, the Skins held him to one catch for 17 yards the last time around. Big Joe has scored in three of his last four games, making him a potential target if Hasselbeck throws more than one touchdown pass.

Although Jerramy Stevens is having a breakout season, the Redskins surrendered only two tight end scores all season. Buccaneers tight ends Alex Smith and Anthony Becht combined for 40 yards last week, so don't expect much more than that out of Stevens, who might be asked to stay home and block more given the pressure Washington has been known to throw at opposing quarterbacks.

The Redskins have allowed multiple field goals in two of their last three games, which would seem to indicate that Josh Brown will convert more than one trey on Saturday. However, Brown logged only nine treys in eight home games this season, so history suggests he'll be held to a single three-pointer.

More Bodog Football Articles...