Jason Campbell remembers watching Mark Brunell endure criticism through the 2006 season.

Campbell eventually supplanted Brunell as the Redskins' starting quarterback that year.

Brunell returns to FedExField this Sunday as a backup with the New Orleans Saints.

Now it is Campbell who is under scrutiny after a rough start to the 2008 season.

"Scrutiny is part of the job, especially at quarterback," Campbell said. "You are going to get a lot of blame when things don't go right and sometimes not enough credit when things do go right."

Added Clinton Portis: "People will always criticize you when you don't win and it's always going to be like that. We know what he is capable of doing and we just have to focus on getting that first win."

Campbell struggled--along with the rest of the offense--in the Redskins' 16-7 loss to the New York Giants last Thursday.

He completed 15-of-27 passes for 133 yards and one touchdown, a 12-yarder to Santana Moss. The offense was 3-of-13 on third downs and totaled just 11 first downs overall.

Campbell said he exchanged text messages with Brunell shortly after the Giants game.

"He understands the situation I'm in and he's telling me, 'Stay in there,'" Campbell said. "They were encouraging words. He knows this position is under the microscope all the time."

Campbell has tried to keep the criticism in perspective.

He is not one to yield to emotions.

"You can't go out and play mad trying to prove something," he said. "If you do that, then you're doing it for all the wrong reasons. You're trying to prove a point to people instead of trying to do what you have to within the offense.

"I'm just going to keep working hard and hopefully in a couple weeks we'll be talking about a completely different story."

-- COLSTON WON'T PLAY VS. REDSKINS

The Redskins certainly took notice when it was announced that New Orleans Saints wide receiver Marques Colston would be sidelined 4-6 weeks with a hand injury.

Defenders said all the right things on Wednesday when asked about Colston.

But there's no denying that his absence will change the complexion of the game.

Colston, 6-4 and 225 pounds, has caught 168 passes and 19 touchdowns in just two NFL seasons.

"Coach [Sean] Payton does a good job of finding out what a guy is good at--whether it's for deep routes or intermediate routes--and he uses them that way," Shawn Springs said. "Now maybe they'll go to [Jeremy] Shockey more. They have 4-5 receivers who can play--[former Redskin] David Patten looks real good on film."

Added Jason Taylor: "Colston's injury will hurt the Saints because of what kind of player that he his. But they have a ton of talent like Jeremy Shockey, Reggie Bush, Drew Brees, and a great offensive line.

"We've seen a lot of guys go down the first week of the NFL, which just means that some people just have to step up."

-- COOLEY MISSES PRACTICE

Chris Cooley sat out his first NFL practice on Wednesday to rest a sore quad.

Cooley took part in a morning practice and experienced the soreness.

"We felt like giving it a rest was the best option," Cooley said. "We didn't want to risk anything."

Asked if the injury would impact whether he plays on Sunday, Cooley replied simply: "No."

In five seasons, Cooley had never missed practice with the Redskins.

"It was an inside goal of mine not to miss practice," he said. "At the same time, I don't feel like I had an option. The game [this Sunday] is so much more important."

-- KELLY FULL-GO, FINALLY

Malcolm Kelly was full-go in Wednesday's practice, the first time since Aug. 26 that he participated in both individual drills and 11-on-11 work.

Kelly has a knee injury that forced him to miss all of preseason.

"It's time I got back," he said before Wednesday's practice. "I'm tired of sitting around and waiting."

He ran through pass routes with wide receivers coach Stan Hixon and started working himself into the offense again.

"My knee feels pretty good," he said.

-- TWO LINEBACKERS OUT

Marcus Washington did not participate in Wednesday's practice due to a hamstring injury.

Jim Zorn said he expects both Washington to be available for this Sunday's game.

"I talked to Marcus this morning and I think he's going to be fine," Zorn said.

Khary Campbell also sat out Wednesday's practice with a thigh injury.

Fred Smoot was limited in Wednesday's practice as he recuperates from a hip pointer.