On whether he has thought about outplaying Seahawks RB Shaun Alexander on Sunday:
"It's always in the back of your mind. But we can't go out and stop each other. We both have good defenses to face. He has to come out and play his game and I have to do the same. Most of the time in this league, [whichever team] ends up winning the rushing battle ends up winning the game. Personally, I always want to win the rushing battle. Sunday hopefully will just be a stepping stone [towards that goal]."
On the role of individual statistics in team victories:
"I'm sure that Shaun feels the same way I do. The numbers really don't mean anything when you're not winning or in the playoffs. I'm sure he would rather contend in the playoffs than go for the rushing champion [title]. It's good to be the rushing champion, but at the same time, you want to get your team into the playoffs and hopefully carry them though it. He's in a similar situation to [me]. We always want to be at the top of our games and be [among] the top rushers. [But we] can see that the playoffs or a championship are more important. So, whatever we can do, whether it's blocking, receiving, or whatever, we just want to help the team."
On whether he focuses less on individual statistics now than he has in the past:
"There comes a point when you realize that stats don't mean anything. After my first two seasons, I still was miserable due to not doing anything in the playoffs. In my first season [in Denver] we didn't even make it to the playoffs. In my second season [in Denver], we went up to Indianapolis and got blown out. Then I came here [in 2004] and didn't make it to the playoffs again. No matter what [a player's] regular-season stats are, the people with the best stats [in the playoffs are the ones who] make it to the Super Bowl. When the Panthers went to the Super Bowl [in 2004], [RB] DeShaun Foster came on strong in the playoffs. His stats all season [weren't strong] because he was banged up. Once it came playoff time, he showed up. You want to get into the playoffs and cause that havoc. I know that the guys around me have work ethic and believe that it's really about winning."
On the keys to ending his scoring drought:
"We just need to keep plugging away]. For [Seahawks RB Shaun Alexander] to have four rushing touchdowns last week [against Arizona], you dream of those days. I was talking at one point [after the 2003 season] about having five [touchdowns against the [Kansas City Chiefs on 12/7/03] as a Denver Bronco, but then I had five all of last season. Everyone wants to get in the end zone. We just haven't been doing that a lot around here. My time will come. Once I get in [the end zone], hopefully it [creates] an effect where everyone [on the Redskins] gets in and I continuously get in. Right now, we're just struggling to get points. We're trying to fight our way through it."
On the team's running game through two games:
"We felt pretty good about our rushing against Chicago. We knew that Chicago was a good defense and we felt good about what we were able to do against them. [Two weeks ago] in Dallas, we really never got into our rushing game because we got behind [13-0] so early. Trying to play catch-up and get back into the game, we detoured away from the run. But [the Cowboys] were keyed in on stopping the run the whole game. You're going to have games last that. You just have to fight through them. Luckily, [even though we were] stopped in our running attack [against Dallas], we found a way to win."
On the Seattle Seahawks defense:
"They look pretty good. Defensively, they upgraded at linebacker. They have guys flying around and hustling to the ball. You can't judge people [based] on last year. Last year, we were ranked horribly on offense, but this year, we're 2-0. It's a new year and new time. Everyone is improved."
On whether he is looking ahead to playing his former team [Denver] next weekend:
"We have Seattle [to play on Sunday]. If we overlook Seattle, we won't be on the roller coaster that we want to be on going into Denver [next week]. Seattle is a capable team. They have a [talented] quarterback, running back, and wide receivers. They can put up points. They live by blowing out people. They also picked up some studs on the defensive side of the ball. You can't overlook any team in this league. Any week you can be beaten. You can't look ahead because then you get beat. We know that. Last year, once we got behind the eight ball, we never focused on winning [that week's game] and improving [our record by one game]. We were trying to win six games in one week. Therefore, we're going out to beat Seattle. Next week, we'll have an opportunity to focus on Denver."
