Woody:Panthers primed to end Skins' reign

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Panthers primed to end Skins' reign

Washington is 6-0 vs. Carolina, but that was then, this is now

BY PAUL WOODY

TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

Sunday, November 16, 2003

When the Washington Redskins take the field today in Charlotte, N.C., to play the Carolina Panthers, the game will be a battle of history vs. fact and expectations.

History is on the side of the Redskins. In six meetings between these teams, Washington has prevailed every time. The Redskins have won some games easily, won others by coming from behind and won once in overtime.

"They've got to be a little confident about that," said Stephen Davis, someone who should know precisely how the Redskins feel about playing Carolina. "I hope that changes this week."

Davis spent the previous seven seasons with Washington and was involved in five of those Redskins victories.

Facts and expectations will be on the side of the Panthers. Carolina has a 7-2 record, leads the NFC South by three games and has beaten the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Bucs twice. The Bucs hammered the Redskins 35-13 at FedEx Field on Oct. 12.

Davis now is the star running back for the Panthers, and that makes this game a battle of offensive philosophies as well. The Redskins, under Steve Spurrier, prefer to run a wide-open offense, throwing deep whenever possible.

The Panthers, under John Fox, believe in running the ball on offense and stopping the run on defense.

Carolina has won three games in overtime this season. The Panthers have won six games by six points or fewer. They have won some games with offense, some with defense, some with big plays by special teams.

"We're set up that way," Fox said. "We're pretty solid across the board. I don't think we've arrived by any stretch of the imagination. But this is the ultimate team game, and those three phases affect the outcome of the game.

"I've always believed that more games are lost in this league than won. Not that you play careful or play scared. It's like investing money. There are proven ways, and there are high-risk ways. I believe in more proven, steady ways."

Steady does not precisely describe the Redskins. After a 3-1 start to the season, they lost four straight. They defeated Seattle last week in a game that was notable for two significant changes from the previous four contests.

Spurrier turned the play-calling duties over to offensive coordinator Hue Jackson. And the Seahawks did not blitz often.

With Jackson running the offense, the Redskins had an almost perfectly balanced attack. Jackson will continue with his play-calling duties today.

The Seahawks are not a team that relies heavily on the blitz. The Panthers have not been a team that brings heavy blitzes, either. Instead, the Panthers get most of their pass-rush pressure from their defensive line, a la Tampa Bay.

The Panthers have 22 sacks, and half belong to defensive end Michael Rucker. Panthers defensive ends Julius Peppers (two sacks) and Al Wallace (2½) and defensive tackle Kris Jenkins (two) do their part to push the pocket as well.

Redskins left tackle Chris Samuels will spend most of his time dealing with Rucker.

"He has it all, power, speed and a high motor," Samuels said. "He's never going to stop coming."

The Redskins hope they can stop Davis, who missed last week's game against Tampa Bay because of a sprained ankle. He's expected to play today, and the Redskins expect him to be psyched up to face the team that felt it no longer needed him.

"When the first guy hits him, he has to wrap him up, and we have to have other guys running in to help," said Redskins middle linebacker Jeremiah Trotter.

The Redskins also hope history will help trump fact one more time.

Contact Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444 or pwoody@timesdispatch.com