Randle El produces a lot in the slot

Redskins receiver Antwaan Randle El, seen scoring a touchdown last season against Seattle, had seven catches for 98 yards Sunday against the Giants. ASHBURN, Va. When Antwaan Randle El lines up in the slot, he can have lots of choices.

"You have a freedom," the Washington Redskins receiver said. "Four or five different options. Break out, break in, stop, come back . . . "

Playing the position requires plenty of savvy and a special rapport with the quarterback, who has to know which way his receiver is going to break. The receiver on the outside? His options are limited because of the sideline.

Not the guy going across the middle. Randle El seems made for the role, and maybe that's why his demotion might actually be more of a promotion. He's been supplanted as a starter this season by second-year wideout Malcolm Kelly, but that's mostly semantics. When there are three receivers on the field -- and that happens quite a bit in the NFL -- Randle El usually will be out there.

On Sunday, in his first game as the No. 3, Randle El was actually No. 1 -- leading the Redskins with 98 yards receiving on seven catches in the 23-17 loss to the New York Giants. It was a more productive game than any he had as a starter last year.

"I wanted to be the starter," Randle El said. "But, of course, it didn't happen and then I just transferred my focus."

With Santana Moss drawing double teams on the outside and Kelly ineffective in his first NFL start, Randle El and tight end Chris Cooley did the heavy lifting in the passing game. Randle El said he found himself shadowed by linebackers -- a receiver's dream -- and 56 of his yards came after the catch.

"We knew that was a matchup we were going to have to win because of what they do to our outside receivers," quarterback Jason Campbell said. "If you look back to the days when he was in Pittsburgh, he was exceptional as a slot receiver. That's where he made a lot of his big plays. He can play outside, too, but in order for him to use most of his speed and quickness, it's a good job for him to play in the slot."

Randle El came from the Steelers in 2006 with the hope of becoming an established starting wideout. His numbers have been OK -- 51 catches in 2007, 53 last year -- but not impressive enough for the Redskins to stop looking elsewhere for receiving help. Kelly and Devin Thomas were drafted in the second round in 2008.

Yet, when he learned Kelly had the starting nod, Randle El didn't complain. Or, as he put it, "I didn't stress about it." Instead, he mined his relationship with Campbell, knowing it would pay off when deciding which of his options to take while running the routes over the middle.

"Me and Jason, we worked on it a whole lot during the offseason," Randle El said, "reading, knowing when I'm going to come out."

The only blemish on Randle El's day against the Giants was an option pass called on the Redskins' second play from scrimmage. A quarterback in college at Indiana, Randle El took the handoff from Campbell but couldn't find an open man.

Instead of throwing the ball away, Randle El was sacked for an 11-yard loss, taking the Redskins out of field goal range.

"Bonehead," Randle El said. "Trying to do one of those, 'Uh, step back, make guy miss.' Ah, just throw it away. That was the three points we lost."

Of course, the St. Louis Rams now have a game's worth of video on Randle El being productive in the slot. They are sure to try to take that away when the teams meet Sunday, while still keeping a rein on Moss.

"It could be a total different ball of wax depending on what they try to do, taking me away in the slot," Randle El said. "That's kind of the thing we're getting to, because you can trap me, but if me and 'Tana are on the same side, somebody's got to cover that [No.] 89 out there."