Congratulations to Redskins Hunter “the punter, runner and passer” Smith on being named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week. It was a pretty spiral he threw to FB Mike Sellers for a 35-yard TD. He also punted last Sunday, but, fortunately, not quite so often. He is the first full-time punter to run and throw for a TD in the same season.

Are there reasons to be optimistic about these Redskins? Ryan O’Halloran writes:

Since offensive line coach Joe Bugel’s halftime diatribe in a loss to Atlanta two weeks ago, the Redskins have gained 631 yards and scored 44 points on 15 possessions.

O’Halloran cites improved offensive line play, using a single-back formation that suits Ladell Betts more than Portis, production from 2nd year players like Fred Davis, and ferocious effort from guys like LT Levi Jones, who knows he’s auditioning for a job somewhere next season.

Clinton Portis wants to be cautious about his return from a concussion suffered two Sundays ago in Atlanta. After seeing what has happened to Brian Westbrook, I’d say caution should be his first, second and last instinct. Read it. After complaining on The John Thompson Show yesterday that his head feels “heavy” and “blurriness” in his vision when he moves his head quickly [something running backs must do on the football field, Portis definitely didn't sound like someone planning to play on Sunday.

The Washington Times crunches the numbers on Portis' career and finds that he's probably heading into the twilight of his career due to the enormous number of carries he's had since coming to Washington in 2004. Read it.

DE Andre Carter has seen the double teams he got last year go to DT Albert Haynesworth. The result is Carter leading the team [and 6th in the NFL] with 8 sacks and 7 games to play. Read it.

Good news for Cowboys DE/sackmaster Demarcus Ware: He won’t be facing Chris Samuels this Sunday.

Instead of Samuels, Ware will work mostly against Levi Jones. If he moves to the left side, he will face Stephon Heyer, who has allowed 7.5 sacks this season, a league high.

John Keim has the 3 big questions facing the Redskins as they prepare to face the Cowboys in Dallas this Sunday. As always, Keim is worth checking out, so read it.

Rich Campbell gives us his views on what happened with the Skins last Sunday and hands out awards and the opposite of awards. Read it.

Jason Campbell has thrown for 9,000 career yards, joining Joe Theismann, Sonny Jurgensen, Sammy Baugh, Mark Rypien, Billy Kilmer and Gus Frerotte.

The Cowboys have a history of late-season collapses since Tony Romo became quarterback. They’re trying to avoid that this season, beginning with the Redskins on Sunday. Let’s hope for another collapse. Read it.

The Saints cut QB Chase Daniel in order to sign CB Chris McAlister. I wonder if the Redskins will go after Daniel, who clearly outplayed QB Colt Brennan during the preseason.