FOXBORO (CBS) – The New England Patriots take on the Redskins on Sunday, and although Washington has lost seven of their last eight, the Pats are looking at a battle in the trenches.

“This is a big ‘do your job week’ because of some of the things they do,” nose tackle Vince Wilfork said on Thursday. “They run the ball very, very well. That starts up front with the defensive line and the inside backers. We have to do a good job stopping the run; playing the run well to be successful. If not, we’ll lose this ballgame.”

Wilfork says do not look at the stats, which ranks Washington 31st in rushing with just 87.5 yards per game on the ground.

“People can say whatever they want to say about it, but trust me, this team right here can run the football,” he said. “They have some guys that can run it. I don’t care what backs they put in, I don’t care what linemen they shuffle around, they’re all physical and they all take pride in running the football.”

Read: Andre Carter Says It’s A ‘Blessing’ To Be Patriot

The Redskins have been playing musical chairs at running back, with head coach Mike Shanahan going back and forth from Roy Helu and Ryan Torain. Helu had 162 yards and a touchdown run in last Sunday’s loss to the Jets, while Torain did not see the field at all.

Helu has had back to back 20+ carry games, rushing for 100 yards and a score in each of them. It looks as though he will be Washington’s premier back on Sunday, but you just never know with Shanahan.

Stopping the Redskins rush attack will force Rex Grossman to throw the ball more. The Redskins QB will be without his Number-1 target in tight end Fred Davis, who was suspended last week for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. While Grossman has struggled this season, and even saw time on the bench, he is still brimming with confidence and not afraid to try for a big play.

“I think in his aggressiveness, there are probably some throws that he’d like to have back. I think that’s part of what makes him good is that he is aggressive,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said of Grossman. “Defensively just because it looks like you have fairly good coverage on a player doesn’t mean he won’t try to stick it in there. Sometimes he makes plays and sometimes it doesn’t quite get into that spot, but he’s definitely not afraid to be aggressive and throw it in there. I think defensively you have to respect that.”

Read: Levan Reid’s Patriots Blog

Grossman, who has six picks in his last four starts, throwing more will mean good things for the secondary; even if it is the Patriots.

But to get him throwing, the Patriots need to stop the run first.

“It’s a big, big challenge for us. As a defensive player, you have to live for these games. It’s one of these games where there won’t be much trickery, you won’t do a lot of guessing. It’s just knowing what a team wants to do,” said Wilfork.

Tune in to the Patriots-Redskins game Sunday on WBZ-TV and 98.5 The Sports Hub at 4:15pm. Pregame coverage begins on WBZ-TV with Patriots Gameday at 11:30am and at 1pm on The Hub. Stay tuned after the game for all the reaction and analysis on 98.5, and over on MYTV38 with Patriots Fifth Quarter.

FOXBORO (CBS) – The New England Patriots take on the Redskins on Sunday, and although Washington has lost seven of their last eight, the Pats are looking at a battle in the trenches.

“This is a big ‘do your job week’ because of some of the things they do,” nose tackle Vince Wilfork said on Thursday. “They run the ball very, very well. That starts up front with the defensive line and the inside backers. We have to do a good job stopping the run; playing the run well to be successful. If not, we’ll lose this ballgame.”

Wilfork says do not look at the stats, which ranks Washington 31st in rushing with just 87.5 yards per game on the ground.

“People can say whatever they want to say about it, but trust me, this team right here can run the football,” he said. “They have some guys that can run it. I don’t care what backs they put in, I don’t care what linemen they shuffle around, they’re all physical and they all take pride in running the football.”

Read: Andre Carter Says It’s A ‘Blessing’ To Be Patriot

The Redskins have been playing musical chairs at running back, with head coach Mike Shanahan going back and forth from Roy Helu and Ryan Torain. Helu had 162 yards and a touchdown run in last Sunday’s loss to the Jets, while Torain did not see the field at all.

Helu has had back to back 20+ carry games, rushing for 100 yards and a score in each of them. It looks as though he will be Washington’s premier back on Sunday, but you just never know with Shanahan.

Stopping the Redskins rush attack will force Rex Grossman to throw the ball more. The Redskins QB will be without his Number-1 target in tight end Fred Davis, who was suspended last week for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. While Grossman has struggled this season, and even saw time on the bench, he is still brimming with confidence and not afraid to try for a big play.

“I think in his aggressiveness, there are probably some throws that he’d like to have back. I think that’s part of what makes him good is that he is aggressive,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said of Grossman. “Defensively just because it looks like you have fairly good coverage on a player doesn’t mean he won’t try to stick it in there. Sometimes he makes plays and sometimes it doesn’t quite get into that spot, but he’s definitely not afraid to be aggressive and throw it in there. I think defensively you have to respect that.”

Read: Levan Reid’s Patriots Blog

Grossman, who has six picks in his last four starts, throwing more will mean good things for the secondary; even if it is the Patriots.

But to get him throwing, the Patriots need to stop the run first.

“It’s a big, big challenge for us. As a defensive player, you have to live for these games. It’s one of these games where there won’t be much trickery, you won’t do a lot of guessing. It’s just knowing what a team wants to do,” said Wilfork.

Tune in to the Patriots-Redskins game Sunday on WBZ-TV and 98.5 The Sports Hub at 4:15pm. Pregame coverage begins on WBZ-TV with Patriots Gameday at 11:30am and at 1pm on The Hub. Stay tuned after the game for all the reaction and analysis on 98.5, and over on MYTV38 with Patriots Fifth Quarter.

So Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan was right about Donovan McNabb. After being benched then released by the Minnesota Vikings, McNabb may be done as a starting NFL quarterback.

So how could Shanahan have been so wrong about McNabb?

McNabb is perhaps looking at the end of his career, and the Vikings’ move would seem to validate Shanahan’s decision to bench McNabb near the end of last season and then trade him to Minnesota this past summer.

But it also reminds everyone of Shanahan’s decision to trade two draft picks to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2010 — his first major decision as the Redskins coach.

It was a trade that has set back the Redskins’ franchise for at least several years, if not longer.

McNabb’s release in Minnesota raises the questions that still haunt Redskins fans who put their faith in Shanahan as the franchise savior.

How could Shanahan — a supposed quarterback guru — been so wrong about McNabb when he brought him to Washington?

Much of this is hindsight, of course. Many were on board with the trade for McNabb, including myself, and praised the deal. But that praise came with the question of why the Eagles would trade McNabb to a division rival who they would have to face twice a season — unless they knew McNabb was finished?

We might have been stupid enough to ignore that question, but we should expect more from Shanahan, who as a result of the McNabb trade was left with the pathetic choice of Rex Grossman and John Beck as his starting quarterback options and still likely has to pick the future Redskins quarterback in next year’s draft.

Perhaps no one outside of Philadelphia could have foreseen such a dramatic fall. McNabb’s 11 seasons in Philadelphia were successful by most standards — perennial playoff appearances (eight) and impressive individual statistics (216 touchdown passes, with 22 of them coming in his final year in Philadelphia when he had with a 92.7 passer rating, the third highest of his career).

Certainly Vikings coach Leslie Frazier, who was with McNabb in Philadelphia in 1999 as the Eagles defensive backs coach, didn’t see it. Even with McNabb’s disappointing season in Washington, Frazier was willing to give up a sixth-round pick to bring McNabb to Minnesota and make him the starter.

At least Frazier had his quarterback-to-be already in place with Ponder. Shanahan’s Plan B after surrendering two draft picks for the McNabb failure was Grossman and Beck.

You have to figure that sooner or later, Shanahan, the quarterback guru, will finally get one right here in Washington. Until then, his failures will be tied to McNabb’s failures, wherever they may be.

Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at tloverro@washingtonexaminer.com.

By JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) – Washington coach Mike Shanahan vowed Thursday to restore a rushing attack that has been the worst in the NFL since he took over the Redskins.

“We will get that running game back, I promise you,” Shanahan said. “I’ve been doing it over 20 years, and that’s our trademark.”

Shanahan’s pride showed as he referenced his track record with the Denver Broncos, where his ground game was regularly ranked in the top 10 and never finished below 12th. It never seemed to matter who the running back was – Terrell Davis or Olandis Gary or Reuben Droughns or Clinton Portis or Tatum Bell – the Shanahan zone-blocking scheme always seemed on pace to produce a 1,000-yard rusher during his run in Denver from 1995-2008.

Yet, since Shanahan came to Washington last year, the Redskins have averaged a league-low 89.6 yards rushing per game. They’re at 86.7 this season, ahead of only the Tennessee Titans.

While saying he wasn’t making excuses, Shanahan cited injuries to tight end Chris Cooley, running back Tim Hightower, receiver Santana Moss and particularly offensive linemen Kory Lichtensteiger, Trent Williams and Jammal Brown as sapping the offense’s continuity.

“Any time you have a lot of different pieces in the offensive line, you’re not as consistent as you’d like,” Shanahan said. “It just takes one guy to be a little bit off, because if the play is going to go outside or cut all the way back, everybody’s got to be in unison. … And if you do lose somebody, you’re hoping that you have the depth where you don’t skip a beat, and if it’s the offensive line or the running back position, it goes hand-in-hand.”

The Redskins (3-6) haven’t rushed for more than 92 yards in any game during their current 5-game skid. Hightower wasn’t exactly a world-beater before he blew out his left knee against the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 23 – he was averaging 3.8 yards per carry – and Ryan Torain and Roy Helu have struggled to find traction trying to replace him.

The lack of a running game – in addition to shaky play by quarterbacks Rex Grossman and John Beck – has contributed to Washington’s slow starts. The Redskins haven’t scored a touchdown on an opening drive all season and have amassed only 16 first-quarter points. They haven’t scored a first-half touchdown or held a lead since Oct. 2.

That means they’re playing catch-up in the second half, and it’s reflected in the paltry number of rushing attempts. The last three games, the Redskins have run the ball 11, 15 and 16 times and have compiled a total of 20 points.

Right guard Chris Chester has been the only constant along an offensive line that could start its fifth different combination in six games on Sunday when the Redskins host the Dallas Cowboys.

Asked if it’s easier to replace running backs than offensive linemen, Shanahan said: “Everything starts up front, on offense or defense. If you don’t have a good offensive front, or if you don’t have a good defensive front, you’re not going to win in the National Football League. You’re not going to be consistent. You may be lucky enough to get 10 games or 11 games, but once you get to the playoffs, your chances of doing something aren’t very good.”

Although there are still seven games to play, the Redskins have reached the point where it’s time to start analyzing what went wrong and how to fix it in time for next season. The team chose during free agency to focus on improving a defense that ranked 31st in the league in 2010, and Shanahan indicated that the offense will get similar attention come next spring.

“You’ve got to target something in the offseason. That’s what we targeted,” the coach said. “And I really think we were fine on offense, but when you lose four or 5 of those guys, you’re not quite as deep as you’d like. But you’ve always got a plan, but you’re always looking at the salary cap. You’ve taking a look at offense-defense. And you’re taking a look at drafts. Then you try to come up with the best plan.”

On Thursday, tackles Brown (groin) and Sean Locklear (ankle) were limited in practice, and guard Maurice Hurt (knee) sat out. Left tackle Trent Williams is still working his way back into top form after missing two games last month.

In other words, it’s going to take some time for Shanahan to come through with his promise.

“Once we get it rolling and get the depth that we want,” he said, “I think consistently we’ll be good every year.”

Notes: Shanahan said LB Keyaron Fox has a staph infection and was released Monday after being hospitalized for about a week. Fox has not practiced this week. … S LaRon Landry (Achilles) was again a spectator at practice Thursday. “It’s inflamed enough where he couldn’t practice, so that’s never a good sign,” Shanahan said. .. The coach said there’s an “outside chance” WR Santana Moss (broken hand) will play Nov. 27 vs. Seattle.

Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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