Redskins kicker Shaun Suisham struggled again in Sunday’s 10-3 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, coming up well short from 54 yards with the wind at his back. He has made just two of seven attempts beyond 36 yards in the last six games.
Although Jim Zorn plans to bring in offseason competition for the restricted free agent, the coach hasn’t lost faith in Suisham.
“If there was no wind, normally we’ll [try] a 52- or 53-yard field goal, and we had the wind behind us,” Zorn said Monday. “I was out there very early pregame because I wanted to see how the wind was affecting [kicks], and when [Shaun] was kicking with the wind, he was just ripping ’em. And yet on this one, again he got a little underneath the ball.”
Suisham’s .829 field goal percentage in 2007 was the best in Redskins history after Mark Moseley’s .952 in his NFL MVP season of 1982. However, Suisham’s .714 percentage in 2008 is the lowest of any kicker with more than 10 attempts.
“The only concern that I have is wanting him to start getting into a rhythm,” Zorn said. “As soon as [Shaun] finds his rhythm, I think he’ll be lights-out again.”
Punter Ryan Plackemeier’s strong effort the past two Sundays after a rough first seven games with the Redskins gives Zorn hope that fellow third-year man Suisham can have a similar renaissance.
“It’s the same issue as Ryan Plackemeier,” Zorn said. “Here’s a guy with great talent. He came in here and was kicking horribly. What are we going to do about it? Do we just move him on and get the next guy in? There’s a group of punters and a group of kickers, and they all rotate until they find a home.
“When they do, they get coached and they find their rhythm. They all have strong legs. I feel like we’ve got a good kicker. When he finds his rhythm and he gains that confidence … I’m not really ready to move on from Shaun yet.”
Surprising ironmen
Only five players have started every Redskins game the last two seasons, and the list includes three surprises. This season alone, running back Clinton Portis has injured a knee, a hip, his neck, his ribs and his back. Guard Pete Kendall is 35 and has chronically ailing knees that often keep him out of Wednesday practices. Linebacker London Fletcher’s sprained foot kept him out of three weeks of practices, but he didn’t miss a game.
The other two are safety LaRon Landry, who has started all 32 games in his career (including the 2007 wild card loss at Seattle), and tight end Chris Cooley, who has started every game the last four seasons.
All those players made it through the Philadelphia game without incident, but reserve defensive tackle Lorenzo Alexander is doubtful for Sunday after injuring a hamstring while trying to cover Eagles running back Brian Westbrook. His likely absence for this game will be a downer for Alexander, who grew up in nearby Berkeley and played at California.
“Of course I want to play there, but we play [across the bay] in Oakland next year, and that’s my hometown, so hopefully I’ll still be here then,” said Alexander, who has bought 40 tickets for Sunday’s game.
Extra points
Only Kansas City (nine) and Cleveland (17) have fewer sacks than Washington’s 23, but that’s still four above the franchise low, recorded in 2006. No team leader has had fewer than five since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. Jason Taylor and Demetric Evans lead with 3.5 each, half a sack more than former 49ers end Andre Carter. …
Although the Redskins have been eliminated from playoff contention, Zorn doesn’t plan to give any of his younger players more snaps Sunday against the 49ers.
“I’m not going to experiment that way in the last game when we have a chance to go 9-7,” Zorn said. “We can experiment during preseason. We can get these guys a little more ready during the offseason where we can have a better evaluation. We’re going to stick with our [regular] group barring injury.”
So rookies Chad Rinehart and Colt Brennan (zero snaps all year) and Justin Tryon and Rob Jackson (fewer than 30 apiece on defense) can start looking ahead to 2009.
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