He watched Marcus Washington run off the field at Philadelphia, zigging one way and zagging another. He was hyped up, celebrating a stop, and struggled to run a straight line. And Phillip Daniels just smiled.
But Daniels, nor anyone else from the Redskins, has seen that side of Washington lately. It’s a side the Redskins need; it’s also one they should have back against Dallas on Sunday. Washington has missed four of the past five games because of a hamstring injury. However, he practiced Wednesday.
“Oh, man, Marcus is a firecracker,” Daniels said. “You see a guy like that playing the way he plays and it motivates us to play even harder. He wants action. It’s good to have him back out there.”
The Redskins’ defense has other issues this week, mainly losing safety Sean Taylor to a sprained knee. His absence creates a hole in the secondary. The Cowboys will surely test the Redskins’ secondary, and backup safety Pierson Prioleau, deep down the middle.
Also, corner Fred Smoot is battling a hamstring injury that has sidelined him for three games and bothered him in the past two.
And the secondary can be helped most by the play of the line. The front four needs to apply pressure on quarterback Tony Romo or witness a points explosion.
But Washington’s return certainly will provide a boost.
“He elevates everyone around him,” Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said.
Though Randall Godfrey has filled in admirably for Washington, he’s not the same player as the 2005 Pro Bowler. Washington is equally physical and more athletic than Godfrey, a point that was evident during the Eagles game, especially going against Brian Westbrook.
And, though Washington, who has three sacks, is not a dominant rusher, he is better than Chris Wilson.
“He’s a big guy with speed,” Daniels said. “That’s different than having Chris in there; he’s a small guy with speed and they play him for speed all the time. With Marcus, you have to play him for a little bit of everything: speed, bull rush; he has a great spin move.”
Sitting out another week enabled Washington to fully heal — he hopes. It also gave him one more chance to play the what-if game.
“You always watch like that, you kind of say, ‘I can make that;’ or, ‘I can do that,’ ” Washington said. “It’s tough … I’m excited to come back. I like to have a good time and you want to be part of it.”
