The Washington Redskins will come to town Saturday, to face off against the Carolina Panthers in the “dress rehearsal” of the preseason. Both teams starters are expected to play into the third quarter, with the possible exception of the starting quarterbacks.

For Panthers and Panthers fans alike, this game Saturday should show what the Panthers are going to be like come the regular season. As for injured players, both teams should be pretty healthy, Carolina only missing one official starter, safety Chris Harris.

What to watch for

Jonathan Stewart- Panther’s Head Coach John Fox said there is a “likelihood” that the Panther’s number one draft selection, Jonathan Stewart, will get reps in with the first team. That means Saturday will be the first time Stewart gets a handoff from Jake Delhomme during a game. With Stewart playing, we should get a good look at how effective the one-two punch of Stewart and Williams will be this season. I’m expecting big games out of both Williams and Stewart, especially with how well Williams has run in the past two preseason games (87 yards on 17 rushes with two touchdowns).

Jeff Otah- The Panthers other number one draft selection will have a big test Saturday as well, having to face off against one of the league’s best pass rushers in Jason Taylor. Otah has been great with run blocking so far, but his pass protection needs some more improvement. Otah and the starting offensive line should keep up the momentum they’ve built over the past two games, opening up big wholes for Williams and Stewart, and not alowing either Jake Delhomme or Matt Moore to be sacked.

Defensive Line- When I say defensive line, I mean everyone on the line except Julius Peppers. As well as Peppers played against Indianapolis, he was basically ineffective against the Eagles, and not because he isn’t back to his normal self, but because he’s the Panthers only pass rush threat. That means that offensive lines can double and triple team Peppers without having to worry about the other guys. If either Tyler Brayton, Damione Lewis, or Chris Johnson, can put some pressure on Jason Campbell, Peppers won’t see as many double teams and should be able to apply some pressure of his own. The play of the defensive line is going to be paramount this season, because I don’t care how good your secondary is, any quarterback in the league can find an open receiver if he’s got ten seconds to throw the ball.

Dwayne Jarrett- Jarrett will be back on the field after suffering a leg bruise last week and missing the Eagles game. This is a huge game for Jarrett because with D. J. Hackett still out with a toe injury, Jarrett has to opportunity to win the number two job alongside Moose for opening day.

Though the team won’t go through a full game plan for Saturday, the extra time from the Philly game has allowed the team to go through some kind of game preparation. This means that more than the other preseason games both the Panthers and Redskins should be ready for the other team.

As for guys returning, Moose is still a little questionable, but TEs Gary Barnidge and Daunte Rosario could see some work coming back from injuries.

Tags: jeff otah, panthers, redskins