FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2010
KLMNO PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL NFLNOTEBOOK
The old Vikings jersey is still a good fit for Moss and fans
ASSOCIATED PRESS Randy Moss has returned to
where it all began. Wearing his familiar purple
No. 84 jersey, the star wide re- ceiver practicedwith theMinne- sota Vikings on Thursday, a day after he was acquired from the New England Patriots in a trade hisnewteamhopeswillput them right back in the Super Bowl conversation. “To all the Vikings fans that
are coming to the Metrodome, pull your 84 jerseys out, man,” Moss said. “I thinkthis isgoingto be a fun ride.” With owners Zygi and Mark
Wilf watching fromthe sideline, Moss caught passes from Brett Favre and talked to offensive co- ordinator Darrell Bevell as he prepares forMondaynight’s road game against theNewYork Jets. “Who woulda ever thunk it?”
TONI L. SANDYS/WASHINGTON POST Punter Josh Bidwell (6) could not overcome lingering hip pain, so the Redskins ended his season. Redskins Insider Excerpts from
voices.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider
Hip injury ends Bidwell’s season Punter Josh Bidwell’s
lingering hip pain prompted the Redskins to assign him to the season-ending injured-reserve list and signHunter Smith, CoachMike Shanahan said after practice Thursday at Redskins Park. “He was just hurting,” Shanahan said. “He tried to come back with that hip injury and it was just a little bit too painful. Obviously, he wasn’t effective. We had to do the best thing for us, and the best thing for Josh, and that’s why he’s on IR.” Bidwell labored while
punting during the 17-12 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 4 at Lincoln Financial Field. Bidwell had a 37.2-yard average overall and a net average of 33.2 against Philadelphia, but “he was hurting. You could tell by his facial expressions that something was wrong,” Shanahan said. “And by his production, the way he punted, you could definitely tell something was wrong. So a combination of both.” Disappointed in the offseason
when the Redskins did not offer him a contract, Smith returned to familiar surroundings eager to work. “My wife and I, we really
enjoyed living here, I enjoyed playing for this team, and we thought it was a good fit early
on,” Smith said. “As is typically the case, these sort of things have a way of shaking out. And it has. So we are very happy to be back.” The Redskins originally
signed Smith, 33, prior to the 2009 season.He averaged 41.3 yards per punt and placed 23 inside the 20-yard line.
Backfield shuffles again The team signed running
back Quinn Porter to the practice squad to replace running back Javarris James, who was re- signed by the Indianapolis Colts. James, the cousin of former
Pro Bowler Edgerrin James, was withWashington for just a single day. Porter, an undrafted rookie from Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Ala., was with Green Bay in the preseason. At Stillman, Porter rushed for
2,788 yards with 24 touchdowns in 37 games.He also had 68 receptions for 887 yards and 12 touchdowns, and a 32-yard average on 19 kickoff returns. Green Bay reached an injury
settlement with Porter after he suffered a knee injury during the preseason. The Redskins are preparing to face Green Bay on Sunday, so perhaps Porter can provide some insight into the Packers. “I balled out up there, but
unfortunately I got hurt,” Porter said. “I took a month off, rehabbed . . . and passedmy physical here this morning. I’m
here. I’ma Redskin. I’mready to go.”
OnlyWilliams limited Thursday’s injury report was
a promising one, with only left tackle Trent Williams (toe) listed as limited at practice. The Packers, on the other hand, have several players nursing injuries entering Sunday’s game. The other Redskins included
on the report practiced fully on Thursday, including quarterback DonovanMcNabb (thigh), guard Kory Lichtensteiger (knee), safety LaRon Landry (wrist) and safety ChrisHorton (ankle). The Packers have several big
question marks. Six players missed practice Thursday, one of whom—safetyMorgan Burnett —already has been ruled out of Sunday’s game. Linebacker Nick Barnett
(wrist) and tackleMark Tauscher (shoulder) were among those who missed practice, and both could miss a lot more than Sunday’s game, according to news reports on Thursday. Also missing practice
Thusday in Green Bay: linebacker Brandon Chillar, fullback Quinn Johnson (glute) and cornerback Sam Shields (calf). Safety Nick Collins (knee) and cornerback Charles Woodson (toe) were limited.
—RickMaese and Jason Reid
Favre asked. Moss spent his first seven sea-
sons in Minnesota and emerged as the best deep threat in the league. He was traded to Oak- land in 2005 and spent the last three seasons with the Patriots before being dealt back to the Vikings onWednesday. “I thought about this time and
time again,” Moss said. “How is this thing going to play out? Is the love forme still here inMin- nesota? All I’ve been seeing is nothing but positives.” l BEARS: Quarterback Jay
Cutlerwill sit out Sunday’s game at Carolina because of a concus- sion. Spokesman Scott Hagel said Cutler was examined by team and independent doctors after practicing on a limited ba- sisWednesday. Hagel said the doctors “all
agreedthatparticipationinprac- tice” went well but felt that sit- tingout “was the rightway togo.” Cutlerwas in helmet and pads
and expected to practice on a limited basisThursday, although he was mostly standing around while new starter Todd Collins andbackupCalebHaniethrewto receivers during the early por- tion that’s open to reporters. He is also expected to practice Fri- day, and have his status re-evalu- ated early nextweek. Cutler was injured in last
week’s 17-3 loss to the New York Giants,when hewas sacked nine times in the first half. Collins, who took over to start the second half and left that game with a stinger, will be making his first start in three years. “I’m pretty comfortable,” Col-
lins said. “The best way to pro- vide leadership, I think, is to go out there and perform well. That’s the jobas thequarterback, tomovetheballandscorepoints.
‘Relentless’ Orakpo says his day will come redskins from D1
offense back 10 yards, though the down must be repeated. Yardage- wise, a holding flag is more valu- able than most sacks. Matthews, the league-leader, has pushed back offenses an average of 6.86 yards per sack this year. For quarterback hunters, frus-
trating as it may be, being held can also be viewed as a sign of respect. It’s a last resort for a blocker whose job is to keep his quarterback standing. “If they’re just blocking you
straight up, they’re saying, ‘We can just beat you,’” Carriker said. “But if they hold you — he’s caused a lot of holding penalties — that’s a compliment. That means guys are struggling to block him. They have to cheat, basically.” While Orakpo appreciates how
it helps the team, he’d prefer to reach the quarterback. “I’mstill able to get on the edge
and do what I want to do. At the same time, as far as finishing the sack and getting all these holding calls, really it takes away from yourmomentum,” he said. “That’s the thing that frustrates me.” During the games, Orakpo isn’t
too bothered. He says he’s able to quickly move on to the next play. He caused twoPhiladelphia hold- ing penalties in the Redskins’ 17-12 victory over the Eagles last Sunday, so it’s hard to complain after big wins. But when Orakpo gets to Redskins Park on Mon- days and reviews film of each game, it’s hard not to notice. “When you come back and
watch film, you see what could’ve transpired, all the sacks that you missed,” Orakpo said. “That’s what’s frustrating.” Coming off a stellar rookie campaign, Orakpo knew he’d be
facing increased expectations this season. He says he loves the new 3-4 defensive scheme, which defensive coordinator Jim Has- lett has said would give Orakpo the green light to chase the quar- terback three times more than last season. But the converted defensive end says most of the pressure he feels is internal, which is why “it’s irritating to always be getting held and not get those big sack numbers that you want to.” Following his first couple of
games, Orakpo shrugged it off. “I thought it was going to die down eventually,” he said. But following the Eagles game, everyone from fans to teammates seemed to no- tice the trend. “It’s become a little bit redun-
dant week in and week out,” said Orakpo. “I’m looking at other premier guys getting their sacks, getting big plays and not really getting held as much. But for some reason, week in and week out, it’s the same thing with me.” There’s not much he can do
about those situations, but Orak- po says that he notices several other instances in each game when he can still make big plays.
While he might’ve missed two sacks against the Eagles because of penalties, he said he missed two others because he was a hair behind the quarterback. It’s a fine line between a four-sack game and a zero-sack outing. “The one time, [Kevin] Kolb
beatmeto the edge,” he said. “The other one I had him withmy right arm — I mean, I’m holding the dude — I just couldn’t bring him down. The other two times I got held. So there’s a lot of plays out there; I just got to keep pushing.” He hopes this Sunday provides
the year’s breakout game. A year ago, the Packers gave up a league- high 51 sacks. But this year, Green Bay has a newstarting center and right tackle, and they’re actually among the league’s best, having allowed only five sacks through four games, better than all but five NFL teams. (As a team, Pack- ers offensive linemen have been penalized just three times for holding penalties this year.) On the defensive side of the
ball, Green Bay’s Matthews is from his same rookie class and is enjoying the type of second-year success that Orakpo had envi- sioned for himself.
Want a chance at winning WASHINGTON WIZARDS SEASON TICKETS?
TONI L. SANDYS/WASHINGTON POST Brian Orakpo reaches forKevinKolb, while Philadelphia’s Jason Peters keeps his hands on Orakpo. “I’m going to keep doing what
I’m doing and eventually stuff will come,” Orakpo said. “I’mgon- na go out, trymy best and maybe this week, it’s a three- or four- or five-sack game, you never know. But you got to keep working, keep being relentless and eventually stuff is going to happen.”
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Vikings wide receiver RandyMoss practices for the first time with his new/old team. “I think this is going to be a fun ride,” he said.
That’swhat I’mgoing to try to do to help lead the team.” l BROWNS: Quarterback
Jake Delhomme said his right ankle has steadily improved and hecouldreturntofaceAtlantaon Sunday; he hasmissed the previ- ous threeweeks. Delhomme sustained a high
ankle sprain in the season open- er on Sept. 12. He has been inac- tive the past three games, but said he was able to move better during practice on Wednesday, and as long as he doesn’t have any setbacks, he’s hoping to face the Falcons. Delhomme saiditwill beupto
Cleveland’s coaches if he plays, but the 35-year-old took snaps with the starting offense during the portion of practice open to reporters onThursday. l COWBOYS: Dez Bryant
didn’t mind picking up the $54,896 dinner tab for his team- mates. He’s okay with being teased about it. Apologies from the guys who
ran up the bill? Not needed, he insists. “Itwas all in fun,”Bryant said. The rookie wide receiver
spoke to reporters for the first time since his rookie dinner be- came a national topic of discus- sion, with reactions ranging fromlaughter to disgust. Most NFL teams have a tradi-
tion of a lavish meal paid for by the topdraftpick.Rarely,howev- er, does it go to this extreme. The Cowboys went overboard
as payback for Bryant violating another rookie tradition, carry- ing a veteran’s pads at training camp. l TEXANS: Houston signed
defensive end Mark Anderson and waived defensive end Ryan Denney. Anderson was cut by Chicago
on Tuesday. The 6-foot-4, 255- pound lineman had 12 sacks as a rookie in2006,helping theBears reach the Super Bowl. He had only nine sacks over the next three seasons and has none this year. TheTexans signedDenneyasa
freeagentafterbackupdefensive end Connor Barwin broke his ankle in the season opener.Den- ney was inactive for last week’s game againstOakland. l COLTS: Indianapolis signed
running back Javarris James to the active roster anddumpedthe contract of linebacker Tyjuan Hagler. James is the cousin of the
Colts’ career rushing leader,Edg- errinJames, and spent the entire preseason with Indy. He was re- leased Sept. 4 and joined New England’s practice squad two days later. James was released by New
England on Tuesday night and was immediately signed to Washington’s practice squad. Af- ter practicing with the Redskins on Wednesday, the Colts signed him to the active roster. That’s three teams in three days. l RAIDERS: Running back
Darren McFadden sat out his third straight practice with a sore hamstring and is almost certain to miss Sunday’s game against SanDiego. Michael Bush, off to a slow
start after missing the first two gameswith a broken left thumb, handled the majority of reps in practice and will likely start against theChargers. McFadden’s absencewould be
a blow to Oakland’s sputtering offense. The former first-round draft pick is tied for third in the NFL with 392 yards rushing, 35 more than he had last year.
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