Perhaps no other Redskins offensive player had to make as big an adjustment to the team's quarterback change than center Casey Rabach.
In the days leading up to Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jason Campbell and Rabach worked closely on the quarterback-center exchange, snap counts, the snap cadence and adjustments at the line of scrimmage.
"The big thing for me is [hearing] the snap cadence and understanding the rhythm of the quarterback," Rabach said. "What's important for him is to understand how I play and how I snap the ball, versus me having to change how I snap."
Often it takes a couple of games for a quarterback and center to develop a good rapport on the snap exchange, but on Sunday, Campbell and Rabach were mistake-free.
Rabach went into the game figuring that Tampa Bay would try to confuse Campbell and get after him with blitzes.
"I think any [defense] would do that when a young quarterback comes in," Rabach said. "It just falls on us up front to protect him and do our job. We're a veteran group up front and we understand the game. We have to keep him clean and let him do his thing back there."
In pass protection, Campbell was sacked twice, once on a combined sack by cornerback Ronde Barber and defensive end Greg Spires to thwart a drive. In the second half, Campbell was sacked again by defensive end Dewayne White.
Overall, Campbell was 19-of-34 for 196 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Of course, Campbell adds the dimension of mobility in and out of pocket. He rushed for 11 yards on five carries and rolled out several times on pass plays.
The Redskins have not had a true scrambling quarterback this decade, and Rabach said the offensive line had to adjust to that aspect of Campbell's game.
"Our expectations aren't going to fall off because with his big play ability, he can make plays with his legs," Rabach said.
Aside from Rabach, the rest of the Redskins' offensive line went on with their blocking schemes as normal. Since Campbell is right-handed, left tackle Chris Samuels knew he had to protect Campbell's blind side, as opposed to right tackle Jon Jansen protecting left-handed quarterback Mark Brunell's blind side.
-- MOSS OUT; TAMPA 'D' WITHOUT 3 STARTERS
Jason Campbell made his NFL debut without the Redskins' top offensive weapon: wide receiver Santana Moss was declared inactive due to a hamstring injury.
In addition, wide receiver David Patten was inactive due to a hamstring injury. Antwaan Randle El and Brandon Lloyd started the game, with James Thrash and rookie Mike Espy coming in as third and fourth wide receivers. Espy, like Campbell, made his NFL debut.
The Redskins' complete list of inactive players was as follows: cornerback Mike Rumph, safety Reed Doughty, offensive lineman Taylor Whitley, Patten, Moss and defensive tackles Ryan Boschetti and Anthony Montgomery.
Meantime, the Bucs were without three defensive starters for the game: middle linebacker Shelton Quarters, defensive tackle Ellis Syms and defensive end Simeon Rice.
Quarles has been slowed by a knee injury, Wyms has an ankle injury and Rice has a shoulder injury.
With Wyms and Rice out, the Bucs had a revamped right defensive line. Rice has been a thorn in the side of Washington for years--he has 14 career sacks against the Redskins,
Dewayne White, a fourth-year player, started in place of Rice and Jon Bradley, a third-year player, started in place of Wyms. Second-year linebacker Barrett Ruud started in place of Quarles.
-- DESPITE WRIST INJURY, DANIELS STARTS
Defensive end Phillip Daniels drew the start at defensive end despite suffering from a wrist injury. Daniels, who was not listed on the Redskins' injury report all last week, wore a protective brace on his wrist.
Daniels drew praise from assistant head coach-defense Gregg Williams for playing through the injury.
"He has done that before for us," Williams said. "He has done that in his career. He is such an experienced vet that I trust him. We will protect him with good padding and a good tape job. I knew he would be ready."
Daniels has logged 19 tackles and two sacks this season, and he leads the defense with 10 quarterback pressures. The 11-year NFL veteran also has one interception and one forced fumble on the season.
