Andre Carter News

Earlier this evening, I had a chance to visit with Redskins rookie linebacker Brian Orakpo via 103.3 FM ESPN in Dallas-Fort Worth.

The Cowboys' offensive line likely will have its hands full trying to keep Redskins defensive ends Andre Carter and former UT star Brian Orakpo off Tony Romo's back.

In the weeks leading up to the 2009 NFL draft, Oscar Giles' office phone would ring often.

Edwin Williams grew up in Washington, D.C., attended DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md., played college football at the University of Maryland, signed with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted rookie and made the club.

When the Washington Redskins' first feel-good win of the season became official, defensive end Andre Carter simply dropped to both knees and used his right hand to signal No.

The Washington Redskins knew there would be an adjustment period for first-round draft pick Brian Orakpo.

Redskins Mike Sellers scores a touchdown on a fake punt against the Denver Broncos in the second quarter at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., Sunday, November 15, 2009.

What have we here, a Redskins win? Almost didn't remember what one looked like. Six weeks, after all, is a long time to go between victories.

No, that is not a misprint. The Redskins survived two early touchdown catches by Brandon Marshall to pull off the huge upset.

I was able flush out my initial thoughts on the Redskins' 31-17 loss to the Atlanta Falcons during my plane ride home.

ATLANTA -- Well before DeAngelo Hall got involved in a sideline tussle with his former Atlanta Falcons teammates late in the second quarter Sunday, discipline was an issue for the Washington Redskins. By that point, they had six penalties -- two of them offsides infractions on defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, one of which revived a stalled Atlanta drive. Chaos had clearly crept in.

Hall, though, has a penchant for drama, and though there were more costly plays in the Redskins' 31-17 loss to the Falcons at the Georgia Dome, none better typified Washington's utter loss of self-control than Hall's mix-up with the Atlanta coaching staff and players. The near free-for-all started when Redskins safetyLaRon Landry hit Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan out of bounds. It included Redskins Coach Jim Zorn traveling nearly all the way across the field to extract his players from the mess, and it ended after the game, when Hall said he would call NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in protest because he believes Falcons Coach Mike Smith physically threatened him.

Although the Redskins again are among the league leaders statistically on defense, they didn't produce enough big plays - interceptions and fumble recoveries - while going 2-5 and losing their last three games before the bye week.

Restaurant Eve's Jason Smith and Todd Thrasher serve up a bounty of "Molly Delicious". Photo by Chris Svetlik >> To see more photos from the event, head to our photo slideshow What : A night filled with more than 25 food-sampling tables, silent auction items, and a fast-paced live-auction finale.

With the Redskins regrouping during the bye week, we think it's a good time for the blog to take stock of the team's performance.

After an opening half in which 37 points were scored, neither team was able to muster much offensively in the third quarter.

When the Washington Redskins return to work Monday for the final nine games of the season, London Fletcher hopes "the preparation, focus, all those things" remain a constant despite a 2-5 record and little reason to think things will be turned around.

Final observations from the Redskins' 27-17 loss to the Eagles: c On DeSean Jackson 's 67-yard end-around touchdown run less than two minutes into the game, Redskins defensive end Andre Carter had the job of containing on the play, but it's not his first responsibility.

Posted by ESPN.com's Matt Mosley Why even bother with the Wildcat formation when you can simply hand the ball off to DeSean Jackson on the end around and have him go for 67 yards? It's not like the play should have been that hard to diagnose.

Seven games into the season and the Redskins finally faced a team that wasn't winless.

Jerry Gray hears the chatter emanating from every corner of the NFL that he will be the Washington Redskins ' interim coach should owner Dan Snyder fire Jim Zorn during the season.