WPost Email: 'Center Switch Gets Positive Reviews'

The Redskins' switch from Lennie Friedman to Cory Raymer as the starting center seemed to work well, with botched snaps and fumbled exchanges not an issue Monday. Those miscues had been damning in the first two weeks, leading directly to opponents' scores.

Coach Joe Gibbs has continued to praise Friedman and pronounce faith in his ability, but he did not get on the field in Monday's 21-18 loss to Dallas (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A55059-2004Sep27.html) at FedEx Field. Raymer was given the start because he deserved an opportunity to work with the first team offensive line, Gibbs said, and Brunell did not lose any snaps with him Monday.

"We didn't have any problems with the exchanges, which is good," Brunell said. "And Cory's been around a while been in a lot of big games. ... Cory's a competitor, he plays hard and sometimes a little dirty, and that's what you like."

Raymer made his first appearance in Week 1, replacing Friedman for a series early in the second half and quickly tangling with Brunell as he dropped back, leading to a fumble that was returned for a touchdown by Tampa Bay. Friedman started and played the entire game in a loss to New York, and, with bad exchanges still plaguing the team, made the switch to Raymer during practice last week.

News & Notes



• Rookie safety Sean Taylor made his first NFL start Monday and played most of the game, missing a few plays because of a minor hamstring injury.

• Linebacker Mike Barrow missed his third straight game with a tendon tear in his left knee, but he was quite active on the sidelines. Barrow huddled with Gregg Williams, assistant head coach -- defense, and Antonio Pierce, his replacement at inside linebacker, before a few key plays and chatted with reserve linebackers Khary Campbell and Michael Brown as well.

• Dallas cornerback Pete Hunter, who left Monday's game early with a knee injury, is out for the season.

• Washington does not play another NFC East game until Nov. 21 at Philadelphia.

-- Jason LaCanfora

Cory Raymer definitely did a good job out there. I think that Lennie Friedman probably works very hard, but sometimes when you get out on the field things are different and I think that in the NFL players need to be capable of translating their hard work onto the field. I think Raymer just earned himself another start with that solid performance.

hmm... maybe barrow will stick around as a coach after he finishes out his playing career...

Barrow might already be done (for this season). What is up with the length of time (2 months) Barrow has been out? If he has a tear in his knee, he needs to have surgery and fix it once and for all. Even if it means he will be gone for a month or six months, he eventually will comes back whole and healthy. All the therapy and time off in the world is not going to help structural damage to a knee. Therapy and time off does not heal tears. I realize the Skins are holding out hope that he will come back soon. But I saw Barrow limping on the sideline on Monday night. That does not look good.

Barrow might already be done (for this season). What is up with the length of time (2 months) Barrow has been out? If he has a tear in his knee, he needs to have surgery and fix it once and for all. Even if it means he will be gone for a month or six months, he eventually will comes back whole and healthy. All the therapy and time off in the world is not going to help structural damage to a knee. Therapy and time off does not heal tears. I realize the Skins are holding out hope that he will come back soon. But I saw Barrow limping on the sideline on Monday night. That does not look good.

Barrow definitely might be in need of surgery at some point in the near future, but it'd be excellent if he could get in there for a little while so that pierce could move over to weak side with Lavar out. I think that this would add a little bit more strength to our linebacker core for the time being. However, you have to respect what this guy has been doing on the sidelines, spreading some of his knowledge and instincts to help in playcalling or even just giving little tips during the game.
:httr:

everyone thats worked with him says he's great for reading offenses and teaching... too bad he's soo old and worn down...

Barrow might already be done (for this season). What is up with the length of time (2 months) Barrow has been out? If he has a tear in his knee, he needs to have surgery and fix it once and for all. Even if it means he will be gone for a month or six months, he eventually will comes back whole and healthy. All the therapy and time off in the world is not going to help structural damage to a knee. Therapy and time off does not heal tears. I realize the Skins are holding out hope that he will come back soon. But I saw Barrow limping on the sideline on Monday night. That does not look good.
Actually it depends on the severity of the tear. A minor tear can heal with time and physical therapy.

Lenny Friedman is removed to give Cory Raymer a shot back at his old job and there are no fumbles on the handoff. Let's keep it that way.

It should be Raymer's job to lose now. I was always a fan of his the first time around and thought he was an underrated center. Nice to see him back in DC.