Redskins.com:Defense Stepped Up In Fourth Quarter

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http://www.redskins.com/story.asp?ContentID=12229

Defense Stepped Up In Fourth Quarter

11/09/2003

By Gary Fitzgerald

Redskins.com

Bruce Smith reared back, raced past Seahawks’ left tackle Walter Jones and got a clean sack on Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. It was career sack number 197.5 for Smith, leaving him a half-sack short of the NFL record held by Reggie White.

More importantly, Smith's sack occurred on the first play of the fourth quarter and seemed to set a tone for a defensive unit that had struggled at times during the first three quarters of the game.

Later, with the scored tied at 20-20, the Redskins’ defense forced the Seahawks into a three-and-out. It was third-and-one on the series and middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter correctly read the play as a run. He quickly filled the gap between the two defensive tackles.

Trotter broke through the line of scrimmage and met fullback Mack Strong head on. Trotter pushed Strong backwards, and the 6-0, 245-pound fullback inadvertently tripped running back Shaun Alexander, who had taken the handoff from Hasselbeck.

Knocked off balance, Alexander was instanty tackled by Jessie Armstead in the backfield for a 2-yard loss. The Seahawks punted and the Redskins went on their game-winning drive on the ensuing series.

Seattle had one last chance after the Redskins scored to go ahead 27-20. In three plays, the Seahawks drove 30 yards to Washington’s 35-yard line on Hasselbeck passes to Darrell Jackson, Bobby Engram and Koren Robinson.

On the next play, Hasselbeck’s caromed off the hands of Jackson and into the hands of cornerback Fred Smoot, who kept both feet in bounds for the interception.

Smoot, who entered the game still recovering from a bruised sternum suffered in a game four weeks ago, celebrated the game-saving interception by racing 50 yards downfield—to the approval of the capacity FedExField crowd.

“I told them I have the best hands on the team,” Smoot said. “It was a nice interception. It started with him missing the pass. My first instinct was to knock the ball out of bounds. But when he missed it, I focused on the catch and keeping my feet in bounds.”

Smoot said the win had the potential to be a new beginning for the team.

“I hope it’s a new beginning,” he said. “We’re going to take it one game at a time. We are not going to get too excited about a win. The only thing we can think about now is Carolina. We are going to build on this, and keep going.”

The Redskins recorded three sacks in the game, compared to zero by the Seahawks' defense.

Along with Smith, Regan Upshaw and Lional Dalton recorded sacks of Matt Hasselbeck.

"It felt great [to get a sack]," Dalton said. "It's been a year and a half since my last sack. I didn't know how to celebrate it afterwards. But this was one to celebrate."

The Seahawks were able to overcome the sacks and effectively move the ball throughout the game. But the Redskins' defense stiffened with the game on the line.

"After the first couple of series, we settled down and gave Seattle some problems," Smith said. "The character of the individuals on this team stepped up."

Smith, who did not start the game, was able to pressure Hasselbeck several times. "I had a couple shots at him," Smith said. "One time I had him in my grasp, but he got away. When you get a pressure on the quarterback and he throws an incomplete, it's just as good."