Gregg Williams, the Redskins' assistant head coach-defense, said that the string of injuries to defensive backs has helped improve the overall depth of the group because the Redskins have been forced to use cornerbacks as safeties at practices, and vice versa.
Safety Andre Lott should be ready to play Sunday after he missed a few games with a hamstring injury, while safety Matt Bowen is out for the season following knee surgery and safety Ryan Clark and cornerback Fred Smoot have also battled through injury woes. Rookie Sean Taylor, who is facing a drunken-driving charge, will not play Sunday against the Packers.
"We're constantly training safeties to play corner and corners to play safety, too," Williams said. "We're training for those what ifs."
Williams said he has coached games before when he began with seven defensive backs dressed and lost three of them to injuries. So he installs packages to compensate for those absences if need be. "You have to kind of build that flexibility into your system," Williams said. "And this coaching staff does a good job with that. You have emergency packages with your front four, with your linebacker and with your secondary. . . . People aren't real sympathetic when you have injuries. You've got to go out there and find a way to get it done."
-- Jason La Canfora
