Gameday Graphic for Game on 8/22/2009
The Redskins host the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, Aug. 22 in the presason home opener at FedExField. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m. ET.
The first 50,000 fans to enter FedExField for Saturday's game will receive a free Redskins Rally towel as a preseason kickoff gift from the Redskins!
FedExField is a natural grass surface. The stadium seats 91,704.
In the first week of preseason, the Redskins lost to the Baltimore Ravens 23-0 on Aug. 13 while the Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 20-10 in a rematch of Super Bowl XLIII.
The Redskins are 110-113-2 all-time in preseason games, including the club's loss to the Ravens. Last year, the Redskins were 3-2 in preseason.
The preseason game vs. Pittsburgh is the second of four exhibition contests against the AFC.
The Redskins also host the New England Patriots on Aug. 28 and close out preseason with a road game at Jacksonville on Sept. 3.
Last year, Washington finished at 8-8--including 1-3 against the AFC North--while Pittsburgh was 12-4 en route to winning the Super Bowl.
The Redskins-Steelers game will be televised on NBC-4 and Comcast SportsNet. Mike Patrick calls the play-by-play with Joe Theismann providing the color commentary. Lindsay Czarniak and Kelli Johnson serve as sideline reporters.
On radio, the game will be broadcast locally on the Redskins Radio Network. Larry Michael calls the play-by-play with former Redskins and Hall of Famers Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff adding color commentary. Former Redskin Rock 'Doc' Walker reports from the sidelines.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS
| OFFENSE | ||
| Pos. | Redskins | Steelers |
| WR | 89 Santana Moss | 86 Hines Ward |
| LT | 60 Chris Samuels | 78 Max Starks |
| LG | 66 Derrick Dockery | 68 Chris Kemoeatu |
| C | 61 Casey Rabach | 62 Justin Hartwig |
| RG | 77 Randy Thomas | 72 Darnell Stapleton |
| RT | 74 Stephon Heyer | 74 Willie Colon |
| TE | 47 Chris Cooley | 83 Heath Miller |
| WR | 82 Antwaan Randle El | 10 Santonio Holmes |
| QB | 17 Jason Campbell | 16 Charlie Batch |
| FB | 45 Mike Sellers | 34 Carey Davis |
| RB | 26 Clinton Portis | 39 Willie Parker |
| DEFENSE | ||
| Pos. | Redskins | Steelers |
| DE | 99 Andre Carter | 91 Aaron Smith |
| DT | 96 Cornelius Griffin | 98 Casey Hampton |
| DT | 92 Albert Hayneworth | 99 Brett Keisel |
| DE/LB | 93 Phillip Daniels | 56 LaMarr Woodley |
| LB | 98 Brian Orakpo | 51 James Farrior |
| LB | 59 London Fletcher | 94 L. Timmons |
| LB | 52 Rocky McIntosh | 92 James Harrison |
| LCB | 22 Carlos Rogers | 24 Ike Taylor |
| RCB | 23 DeAngelo Hall | 26 DeShea Townsend |
| SS | 48 Chris Horton | 43 Troy Polamalu |
| FS | 30 LaRon Landry | 25 Ryan Clark |
| SPECIAL TEAMS | ||
| Pos. | Redskins | Steelers |
| P | 3 Hunter Smith | 9 Daniel Sepulveda |
| K | 6 Shaun Suisham | 3 Jeff Reed |
| H | 3 Hunter Smith | 9 Daniel Sepulveda |
| LS | 67 Ethan Albright | 60 Greg Warren |
| KOR | 31 Rock Cartwright | 21 Mewelde Moore |
| PR | 82 A. Randle El | 21 Mewelde Moore |
SERIES HISTORY
The Redskins and Steelers have met a total of 18 times in preseason, with Washington holding a 12-5-1 edge.
The two franchises last faced off in the preseason in 2007, with the Steelers pulling out a 12-10 victory at FedExField.
In the regular season, the Redskins and Steelers have played 76 times, with Washington holding a 42-31-3 edge in the series.
The last time the two clubs met in the regular season was last year, on Nov. 3, 2008, when the Steelers defeated the Redskins 23-6 in a Monday Night contest at FedExField.
The Redskins jumped ahead 6-0 on a pair of Shaun Suisham field goals in the first quarter, but the Steelers with 23 unanswered points. Ben Roethlisberger scored on a 1-yard dive, but he later suffered a shoulder injury. He was replaced by Byron Leftwich, who guided the Steelers to two second-half touchdowns.
Jason Campbell completed 23-of-43 passes for 206 yards and two interceptions. He was sacked seven times by the ferocious Steelers defense.
TALE OF THE TAPE
| REDSKINS 2008 RANKINGS | ||
| Offense | Rank | Yards/Game |
| Total Offense | 19 | 320.0 |
| Rushing Offense | 8 | 130.9 |
| Passing Offense | 23 | 189.1 |
| Defense | Rank | Yards/Game |
| Total Defense | 4 | 288.8 |
| Rushing Defense | 8 | 95.4 |
| Passing Defense | 7 | 193.4 |
| STEELERS 2008 RANKINGS | ||
| Offense | Rank | Yards/Game |
| Total Offense | 22 | 311.9 |
| Rushing Offense | 23 | 105.6 |
| Passing Offense | 17 | 206.3 |
| Defense | Rank | Yards/Game |
| Total Defense | 1 | 236.2 |
| Rushing Defense | 1 | 80.2 |
| Passing Defense | 2 | 156.0 |
FAMILIAR FACES ON THE STEELERS
Free safety Ryan Clark played for the Redskins from 2004-05 and established himself as a starting caliber defender with the Redskins.
Defensive backs coach Ray Horton began his NFL coaching career as an assistant defensive backs coach with the Redskins in 1994-96.
Running backs coach Kirby Wilson served in the same capacity with the Redskins in 2000.
REDSKINS-STEELERS NEWS & NOTES
-- Randle El's Old Team
Antwaan Randle El, who played for the Steelers from 2002-05, faces off against his former team. Randle El was a second-round draft choice by the Steelers in 2002. He has plenty of great memories in Pittsburgh.
In four seasons in Pittsburgh, Randle El developed his skills as a wide receiver and was a key component in the Steelers' run to Super Bowl XL in 2005.
Randle El's Steelers beat Seattle that year by a score of 21-10. Jim Zorn was a quarterbacks coach on the team.
Randle El's most memorable play? On a wide receiver option, he threw a 43-yard touchdown pass to Hines Ward to provide the final points of Super Bowl XL. He became the first wide receiver to throw a TD pass in a Super Bowl game.
Randle El, who signed with the Redskins as a free agent two months after Pittsburgh won the Super Bowl, said the '05 Steelers were a confident group, mostly because they knew they could compete with any team in the AFC that year.
"We had played Cincinnati twice already and we knew we could beat them [in the Wild Card round]," he said. "We played Indianapolis and we knew we could stay with them [in the Divisional Playoff round].
"And then there was Denver [in the AFC Championship game]--that was the only team we weren't sure about. But we had a game plan going against Denver like never before--on offense and on defense. It certainly worked out on the field."
-- How the 80-Man Roster Was Built
The Redskins have 28 players on the roster that the team drafted, including 2009 first-round pick Brian Orakpo and 2009 supplemental draft pick Jeremy Jarmon. Draft picks account for 35 percent of the Redskins roster.
Chris Samuels is the longest-tenured Redskins. He has played for the franchise since 2000.
Washington has used free agency to acquire 34 players, including Mike Sellers in 2004, Casey Rabach in 2005, Andre Carter and Antwaan Randle El in 2006, London Fletcher in 2007, DeAngelo Hall in 2008 and Albert Haynesworth and Hunter Smith in 2009. Free agents account for 42.5 percent of the roster.
Fourteen Redskins players were acquired as undrafted rookie free agents. This group includes offensive lineman Stephon Heyer.
The team has acquired two players via trade. Clinton Portis was acquired in a 2004 trade with the Denver Broncos and Santana Moss joined the Redskins as part of a 2005 trade with the New York Jets.
The Redskins have claimed just two players off waivers: Anthony Alridge and Marcus Mason.
-- Smith's Specials
Danny Smith, born in Pittsburgh, has guided the Redskins' special teams unit since 2004. Kickoff returns and kick coverage have been a strong suit for the Redskins in that span.
The Redskins have given up only 20.5 yards per kickoff return, the second-best mark in the league during that span. The unit has been nearly as successful on kickoff returns, ranking seventh in the league in that span with a 23.2-yard average.
Last year, Washington's kickoff unit was among the league's top groups.
The Redskins allowed opponents an average starting field position of the 25.7-yard line, the sixth-best mark in the league. The Redskins' kickoff return unit also ranked sixth in the league with an average starting field position of the 29.0-yard line.
-- Tomlin's Background
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin began his coaching career in 1995 at Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Va. He entered the NFL as a defensive backs coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2001.
Tomlin was defensive coordinator of the Minnesota Vikings in 2006 and he coached current Redskin Fred Smoot.
As a player, Tomlin was a three-year starter at William & Mary froom 1990-94 and he finished his career with 100 receptions for 2,046 yards and a school-record 20 TD catches.
Tomlin was born in Hampton, Va. He attended Denbigh High School in Newport News, Va.
-- For the Defense
Since 2000, the Redskins' defense has finished in the top 10 in yardage allowed seven times.
Last year, in Greg Blache's first season leading the defense, the Redskins were ranked fourth overall in the NFL. They were ranked eighth against the run and seventh against the pass.
The Redskins also finished fourth in 2000, 10th in 2001, fifth in 2002, third in 2004, ninth in 2005 and eighth in 2007.
Since 2004, when Blache joined the Redskins as defensive line coach, the Redskins have the NFL's fourth-ranked defense.
-- Spreading the Wealth
In 2008, Chris Cooley's 83 catches ranked 11th in the NFL and Santana Moss's 75 catches ranked 18th.
The Redskins were one of four teams last year, along with Arizona, Denver and Kansas City, to have two of the top 18 pass catches in the league.
Cooley has led the Redskins in receptions each of the last three years, while Moss led the team in catches in 2005.
-- Roethlisberger Unlikely to Play
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger suffered a foot injury on Thursday and he is not expected to play against the Redskins on Saturday night.
Roethlisberger did travel with the team to Washington, indicating that the injury is not serious. Charlie Batch is expected to start in his place.
Roethlisberger was injured when left tackle Max Starks inadvertantly stepped on his foot during a training camp practice.
-- Redman vs. Redskins
Look for Steelers undrafted rookie running back Isaac Redman to get plenty of carries in Saturday's game.
Redman played college football at nearby Bowie State and finished his career at the college's all-time rushing leader.
Redman finished his career with 3,300 rushing yards on 613 carries, a 5.3 yards-per-carry average.
-- FedExField Attendance
FedExField is the largest stadium in the NFL with 91,704 seats.
It is more than 11,000 seats ahead of the second biggest stadium, the new Cowboys Stadium. (Cowboys Stadium is expandabe to seat up to 100,000.)
The Redskins set a single-game attendance record--90,910--in a Dec. 30, 2007 game against the Cowboys.
-- What's Next?
The Redskins host the New England Patriots on Friday, Aug. 28 in the third preseason game for both clubs.
Kickoff is 8 p.m. The game is televised nationally on CBS.
