Redskins Insider

With Clinton Portis likely missing Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos, the Redskins could have a new running back on the roster in the next few days. What's not as clear: whether Larry Johnson will be that new running back.

Johnson was released this morning by the Kansas City Chiefs. If he clears waivers, he'd become an unrestricted free agent and any team would be free to negotiate for his services.

There are several reasons the deal could go down. First, Portis' status is unknown. Coach Jim Zorn was essentially guessing that Portis would be unavailable this weekend. He said the running back did suffer a concussion in Sunday's loss at Atlanta. The two spoke this morning and Portis told Zorn he still had a headache. The league is taking concussions more seriously than ever, evidenced most recently by the fact that the Eagles' Brian Westbrook missed his second straight game last weekend since suffering a concussion against the Redskins on Oct. 26.

Redskins Coach Jim Zorn said Monday that he would expect the NFL would look into the sideline incident involving Washington cornerback DeAngelo Hall and Atlanta Coach Mike Smith during Sunday's 31-17 victory for the Falcons. League spokesman Greg Aiello said such incidents are always reviewed but a decision about any fines or discipline won't come until later in the week, most likely Friday.

"I'm sure the league's going to look at that and decide what they want to do with it," Zorn said.

Hall was furious after Sunday's game, saying that Smith and a Falcons assistant coach physically grabbed him in the melee, which followed an out-of-bounds hit by Washington safety LaRon Landry on Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan. Hall said he would pursue the matter by calling NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell or Ray Anderson, the league's executive vice president-football operations.

Defensive back Chris Horton will be out four to six weeks and, possibly, four to six months because of an injury to his toe, Coach Jim Zorn said in his Monday news conference.

Horton would be out for the longer period of time if the injury requires surgery and is a candidate for the injured-reserve list, Zorn said.

Clinton Portis, who suffered a concussion Sunday, still has a headache and does not remember the play on which he was hurt. "I'd say he's doubtful for this week," Zorn said. "That's just my opinion."

Mike Williams will be out at least two weeks because of a ligament tear in his ankle; he'll see the specialist who performed Chris Cooley's surgery.

H.B. Blades, Jason Campbell and Stephon Heyer should all be okay, Zorn said.

The Kansas City Chiefs have dumped running back Larry Johnson. Naturally, the possibility of signing with the Redskins arose. Zorn said that the team had spoken about signing him but added "I don't know" if we'll have interest. "I need to have a longer conversation than I've had to make a decision," Zorn said.

There'll be a new starting left tackle Sunday against Denver: Levi Jones. Heyer will move back to right tackle while Mike Williams is out

I was determined not to write about the offensive line for a while. Having written so much about the team's failure to address its biggest deficiency, I figured Insider readers were ready to move on.

Then the Atlanta Falcons tied a franchise record with five first-half sacks to set the tone en route to a 21-point halftime lead in Sunday's 31-17 victory at the Georgia Dome. The unit did not give up a sack in the second half and opened holes in the running game for back Ladell Betts, who ran hard after Clinton Portis left the game because of a concussion.

Washington had its two longest touchdown drives (80 and 81 yards) of the season in the second half and made things interesting until the defense again gave up another long touchdown run. I suppose some could find encouraging signs from the unit's play after halftime.

But the reality of it is, as we've pointed out for some time now, these guys simply aren't very good. They can't consistently pass protect, and while Betts might be more productive than Portis because he's in good shape and always practices hard, this is not a difference-making line.

And how bad is second-year guard Chad Rinehart? He briefly started when right guard Randy Thomas went down, failed to impress (he was active in games three and four) and isn't even active these days with the line in tatters.

A prominent veteran recently told me that players still talk about the fact that management took three big receivers in the 2008 draft when most in the organization were concerned that the age and injury concerns along the line could soon derail the offense. And although Brian Orakpo already is a beast (he could be among the league's premier pass rushers for a decade or so), the failure to bolster the line in the 2008 draft might have made tackle Michael Oher a better pick in the 2009 draft. Oher was taken 23rd overall by the Baltimore Ravens.

Well, that's it for me. I'm done writing about the line.

Missed tackles

The topic du jour for the Redskins Tailgate Zone is LaRon Landry's tackling.

I spoke with several players last night who said that Coach Jim Zorn "went off" at halftime in the visitors' locker room at the Georgia Dome.

Obviously, Zorn was frustrated about the Redskins' shoddy overall performance to that point and the 24-3 deficit. He didn't confine his loud criticism to the offensive line (the Falcons tied a franchise record with five first-half sacks), instead blasting the entire team for its execution and lack of discipline.

Zorn even reminded the Redskins "this is not Pop Warner," and he demanded they get it together as best they could after the break. The offense had its most spirited second-half performance of the season, but the defense faltered down the stretch in the 31-17 loss.

Although the Redskins often have been in bad shape at halftime in Zorn's 24-game tenure, he has never displayed the emotion he did Sunday, the players said.

"He hasn't done that before, not like that, anyway," said one veteran player who requested anonymity because what occurs in the locker room is supposed to stay in the locker room.

"It was just different. Maybe that's what we needed all along."

Backup Ladell Betts provided a spark in the running game in Sunday's loss in Atlanta after Clinton Portis suffered a concussion in the first quarter and did not return.

Betts displayed a burst rarely seen in the Redskins' rushing attack the last 16 games. He finished with a team-high 70 yards on 15 carries (a 4.7-yard average) and scored Washington's first touchdown in the third quarter on a 1-yard run on fourth down.

"Ladell ran hard and really got us going," quarterback Jason Campbell said. "When Clinton went out, we needed someone to pick us up and help the offense get into a rhythm. We needed to slow down their [pass] rush, and the best way to do that is to run the ball. Ladell really made a difference for us."

Coach Jim Zorn declined to speculate on how long Portis might be sidelined, but given the seriousness with which concussions rightly are treated, it would not be surprising if Portis were to sit out Sunday against the Denver Broncos at FedEx Field.

If he's needed to do more again, Betts will be ready, he said.

"It feels good to come in and help, but I don't put it on anything special I did," Betts said. "The O-line took upon themselves to come out and fight.

"Those guys have taken a lot of criticism through the media and a lot of other avenues, but those guys came out and fought. I just tried to hit the holes as hard as I could and make yards."

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With tight end Chris Cooley propped up on crutches, watching the team's latest loss from the sidelines, the Redskins got mixed results from his replacements. Veteran Todd Yoder scored a crucial touchdown in the fourth quarter that put the Redskins within striking distance, but second-year tight end Fred Davis mishandled a ball in the first quarter, which led to a Falcons' score.

Quarterback Jason Campbell targeted Davis late in the opening quarter. Though the throw was a bit high, Davis said he could've caught it. Instead, the ball bounced off his hands and into the hands of Falcons cornerback Tye Hill, who returned the interception 62 yards for Atlanta's second touchdown.

"I messed up on one play the whole game. Everything else was pretty solid for me," Davis said. "I just wanted to come out and do whatever I could to make some plays and help the team. Just that one pass off my hands. ... I should have had it. You can say it was a little outside, but I got one hand on it and then the other. I should have made that catch."

Davis finished with two catches for 26 yards. Yoder, the team's only other tight end, had just one catch for three yards -- but it was a big one. On third-and-goal, Campbell rolled right but saw coverage everywhere. At the least moment, he spotted Yoder and hit him in the corner of the end zone, where Yoder barely got both feet in-bounds. The score cut the Falcons lead to 24-17.

"It gives us life, it gives us a great feeling ... that we're coming back in this game," said Yoder. "Obviously at the end of the game, it [stinks] because we didn't win."

Cooley, who had leg surgery during the bye week, expects to have his ankle and lower tibia examined by a doctor Monday. He hopes to have a better of idea then of when -- or even if -- he can return this season.

In the preseason, rookie Marko Mitchell was the Redskins' leading receiver with 113 yards and three touchdowns in four games. But he'd been a non-factor in the regular season, inactive for five of the first seven games. Coaches told him Friday, though, that he'd see some playing time Sunday in Atlanta. He thought he'd be used primarily in the red zone but in the second half, the Redskins used him in a variety of situations.

On the team's first touchdown drive, Mitchell had an 11-yard catch on first down, which put Washington on the Atlanta 25-yard line. Then in the fourth, he had another 11-yard reception, this time coverting a third down.

"It felt real good," said Mitchell, a seventh-round pick out of Nevada. "It's been a long process, long time coming. So I felt good about the way things went."

Mitchell was targeted just twice, but that's the same number of times quarterbacks targeted starting receiver Devin Thomas, who didn't have a single reception Sunday.

"He's a big target, a big body," quarterback Jason Campbell said of Mitchell. "I'd say some guys are just gamers. He's just one of those guys who's just a gamer."

There was a tremendous amount of discussion at Redskins Park during the week about who would return punts for Washington. Coach Jim Zorn initially said he would rely on cornerback DeAngelo Hall, turning away from regular returner Antwaan Randle El, but then reversed course during the week, declaring Randle El his main guy.

The issue was a non-factor in the game. Randle El went back to receive the first punt of the day, on which he signaled a fair catch. The play was nullified because of a penalty on the Redskins.

Hall, though, got more work. He made a fair catch on an Atlanta punt early in the second quarter, and his only return attempt came in the second half, when the Redskins had pulled within 24-10. He caught the ball at the 21 near the left hash and ran backwards and right. He was corralled easily, losing two yards on the return.

On the other side of the punting game, Sam Paulescu -- who was signed Thursday to replace regular punter Hunter Smith, who has now missed three games with a groin injury -- performed extremely well. Paulescu punted three times for an average of 50 yards, with a long punt of 53. His net average was 46 yards. ..... Place kicker Shaun Suisham made a 48-yard field goal and, halfway through the season, is still perfect on field goal attempts. The five-year veteran has now converted all 10 attempts this year, and the 48-yarder Sunday tied for his longest of the season.