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Mike Sellers falls into the end zone after catching a touchdown pass from Hunter Smith on a fake field goal.
Washington cornerback DeAngelo Hall and safety LaRon Landry break up a pass intended for Brandon Marshall. |
LANDOVER, Md.
--Hunter Smith has long wondered what it would be like to throw a touchdown pass in an NFL game. He was a standout quarterback at Sherman High School in Texas, was recruited by the University of Notre Dame as a quarterback and served as the Indianapolis Colts' emergency quarterback for much of his 10 seasons there. That path led to his moment of glory yesterday, when he finally experienced that elusive thrill. Smith,
"It is nice here to have a chance to get in there and actually throw a pass and have it work," Smith said.
The Redskins, trailing by 7, lined up to attempt a field goal on a fourth-and-20. Suddenly, several players realigned. Smith got behind the center in a deep shotgun position--where he could either pooch punt or pass.
But the play was doomed because the Redskins had only 10 men on the field. Tight end Fred Davis was absent, Smith said. The Redskins had to call timeout.
The Broncos saw the unorthodox pre-snap shift, but Washington decided to stick with the play coming out of the timeout.
"It was just a play we felt would work," special teams coach Danny Smith said.
Tight end Todd Yoder went in motion across the formation as a diversion. Hunter Smith took the snap and rolled right, hoping to draw the defense to Yoder. The Broncos didn't pressure Smith as he pump faked to the right flat.
Meanwhile, Sellers slipped undetected down the left side. Smith lobbed the ball to him back across the field inside the 5-yard line. He raised both his arms as Sellers fell across the goal line in what was a critical turning point in the Redskins' win.
"It's not the element of surprise we were going for," Hunter Smith said. "We had a strategy. We were trying to scheme against them, and it worked."
Smith's ailing groin kept him out of practice most of last week, and he practiced the play only three times. Still, he ran it to perfection and added it to his Week 1 rushing touchdown.
"There was a moment when you stand up and you're in shotgun and you kind of look at the defense, and you go, 'Wow, I haven't seen this in about 12 to 14 years,'" Smith said.
BIG PLAYS BURN SECONDARY
The Redskins' defense surrendered two more big plays yesterday. Broncos receiver Brandon Marshall capitalized on two blown coverages on his 40- and 75-yard touchdown receptions.
"That's obviously still a concern for us, but we were able to overcome them today," linebacker London Fletcher said.
Washington has given up two touchdowns of at least 30 yards in each of the last three games.
Marshall victimized Rogers with a double move on the first touchdown and sprinted behind free safety LaRon Landry, whose attention was diverted by a different receiver, on the second.
Rogers was benched after he gave up the first touchdown.
"It was for the rest of the game, but that doesn't mean it will be for the rest of the way down the road," head coach Jim Zorn said. "We'll evaluate it."
THIS AND THAT
Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth injured his left ankle yesterday and had to come out of the game twice. He said afterward that the injury is not serious.
Linebacker/defensive end Brian Orakpo set a new franchise single-season rookie sack record when he brought down Denver quarterback Chris Simms in the fourth quarter. Orakpo's 1.5 sacks yesterday increased his season total to seven. The previous record of six was shared by Dean Hamel (1985) and Andre Collins (1990).
Rich Campbell: 540/735-1974
Email: rcampbell@freelancestar.com
