**Q: How's the elbow?

TB:**: It feels fine… as you would expect. I will be ready to go.

**Q: Is it still a little swollen?

TB:**: It feels fine. You now how upfront we are with injuries we are around here.

**Q: Tell us about this Washington defense.

TB:**: We played them about four weeks ago. They have a lot of big name guys. Bruce Smith is one of the best ever … Champ Bailey and LaVar Arrington.

**Q: Is Bruce Smith slowing down at all?

TB:**: It doesn't look like it to me. It is unbelievable. To play as long as he has at such a high level is really a credit to his dedication.

**Q: Can you learn anything from playing a team in the preseason?

TB:**: Yeah. Definitely. The schemes don't change much; maybe the game planning does, but the way they play their cover 2 is the same as they did in the preseason. We have a feel for the guys that we will be going against and I think all the linemen have a feel for the defensive line and the receivers with the corners right up and down the line. I think it does help. I'm sure it helps them too, but at the same time it helps us.

**Q: Not to give away the game plan... You said you liked playing smash mouth on Sunday. Going into against Washington, obviously a different defense than facing the Jets, I would think you would want to run the ball like you did on Sunday (against the Jets)?

TB:**: That was a huge part of our success that we were able to keep those third downs manageable. We ran the ball for like 150 yards. It takes a lot of pressure off the passing game when you are really able to string some runs together. And it sustains those guys and keeps their defense on the field. It helps play action. I think a bunch of play actions were pretty successful. I think all of those things add in to being consistent and being a good team and moving the chains.

**Q: Are you sensing that those two guys, Antowain (Smith) and Kevin (Faulk), are starting to gain a little more confidence coming out of that backfield?

TB:**: Yeah. Those guys don't rarely lack for confidence, either of them, but especially after a big win in a big week where both of them ran the ball really well and really effectively. I think they have a lot of confidence in the offensive line and I think they have confidence that Charlie (Weis) is going to continue to give them the ball when they go out and run like they did. Like I said, they are very capable of doing that. It is just a matter of us all pulling our end of the rope, making sure the passing is good so they don't have to load up on the run.

**Q: What is it about Washington's defense that concerns you?

TB:**: Each week you go in and you are trying to establish different things and I think this is a solid defense. I know like last game, a lot of our errors just came from mistakes we made, simple plays. The guy is open and I missed him or the ball coming out of my hands on the screen play. It is just stuff that should be easy and it should be easy to execute just playing good football. That is the easiest part about it for this offense, just to make the plays that are there. We don't have to go out and make SportsCenter's Top Ten every night. You just have to go out and do you job and do it well.

**Q: Is the margin of error even smaller with all the injuries on the other side of the ball?

TB:**: I think Coach said it best when he said everyone in the locker room we have confidence in. Whoever is out there, it just doesn't matter. It really doesn't because we have to show up and we have to play well. If we are going to beat a team like Washington in Washington, we have to go out and play well whether it is the first-string right guard or guys that start at the backup. I think we are going to need all the guys that suit up for the game.

**Q: How do you work with and communicate with Rohan Davey and Damon (Huard)? How do you deal with communication with the backups?

TB:**: It is great with those quarterbacks. We are with each other so much that we are probably kicking each other after a while. Damon, Rohan and Kliff (Kingsbury), we are all in it together. All the quarterbacks sit in the same room and it is about communicating what I think is going to help us win the game and them communicating back to me. Whether I am in there, Damon is in there, Damon is giving me a heads up on what he sees or take a look at this. Myself, I say the same thing back to those guys. I think each guy has to be prepared. Everybody has a different skill set, so-to-speak. Everyone has a different way of winning games.

**Q: Is that the most important thing though with practice to make sure there is as little drop off as possible coming game time?

TB:**: Definitely. That is why there are that many guys on the roster that go out and compete every day at practice. I think sometimes there might be a drop off, but mentally and emotionally and with leadership role there should really be no drop off.

**Q: Injuries on both sides of the ball, defense with (Rosevelt) Colvin and (Ted) Washington. Is there a little bit more pressure on the offense this week to kind of help them out?

TB:**: Definitely. That is something that we talked about. We have to step up our end of the deal and really step up our side of play because they are a little light over there. They lost some key guys who played a lot. It is going to be important for us to go out and play and try to keep those guys off the field and keep them rested and allow our offense to be out on the field.

**Q: Have you seen the improvement that you wanted to from the offense or is it still a little bit about seeking out that consistency and finding that level right now?

TB:**: A little bit of both. At times like last week, we had a nine-play drive, 10-play drive, 12-play drive, 13-play drive and then had a bunch of three and outs. I think we would like to sustain those long drives and the way you do that is by completing the passes on third down and running the ball early on early downs. If you are able to do that, you can string those drives together. The when you get in the red-zone, you have to put the ball in the endzone. It is tough to put a lot of pressure on the defense when it is three-and-out, three-and-out and they keep going out on the field like they did at the end of the last game. That is tough on these guys.

**Q: On Sunday, you said there were some missed opportunities. If there were one or two things that you are really focusing in on this week as an offense, what would they be?

TB:**: I don't have to run the routes for the receivers. I just have to throw the ball when they are open. Like that pass in the endzone that I missed Troy (Brown) on. I mean he was wide open and I'm trying to be cute with the throw and it gets away. It is just one of those things where Troy can't throw the ball to himself either. He needs me to throw it to him and I need him to get open and when he gets open, it is my job to get it to him. The hard part about football is it is all 11 guys. If one guy doesn't do his job, then it is evident at the end of the day. Whether I play well or Troy plays well, or if we don't all play well, it doesn't matter.

**Q: Is there any good that comes from all the injuries?

TB:**: I don't think that I would look at it that way. I think guys just have to step in there and do a good job. Obviously, you don't ever want guys hurt, but at the same time other guys have to step in and fill the void.

**Q: The young guys are getting practice more.

TB:**: Definitely. It will probably help us more for next year then for this year having guys hurt.

**Q: Can you go down to Washington still with confidence?

TB:**: Yeah, definitely. There are professional football players in the locker room and it is not like you are pulling guys off the street. These guys can all play and they have proven they can play and they have proven they can win and they have proven that they are capable of being on the team and being to contribute. We practice with everybody, every day. If there was a guy that coach didn't feel confident in then he wouldn't be on the team. I think confidence does come from preparation and solid preparation in practice. Maybe you are running some different plays and if you are not out there practicing then maybe it is hard to know exactly what is going to go on in the game. When you have played a lot of football then it is probably easier than it would be in junior high not practicing all week and going out and playing.