Wide receivers coach Stan Hixon returned to Redskins Park this week after spending the last three weeks with his son Drew at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa.

The younger Hixon, a wide receiver at Tennessee Tech University, suffered a head injury at the end of a play during a game on Sept. 11. Drew remains in a coma. Maintaining a watch on Drew is his mother Rebecca and sister Avis.

"Drew is showing a lot of encouraging progress," Stan Hixon said on Thursday. "He's out of the critical situation, so it's a matter of time, rehab and physical therapy. Hopefully next week we'll try to move him up here to a rehab center at the University of Virginia-Charlottesville."

Hixon thanked the hundreds of well-wishers who have kept the Hixon family in their prayers.

Portis On Pressure

Clinton Portis has quickly become the focal point of the Redskins' offense--he has 72 carries already this season. So the question was asked: Does Portis feel more pressure this year than he did during his first two seasons in Denver?

"No, I actually don't," he said. "Any time you're a running back in the NFL, you know it's on your shoulders, whether people say it or not. The focal point for most defenses is stopping the running game."