John Hall expects to "bounce back" from his missed field goal in the closing seconds of Monday night's 19-16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.
Hall has one important person in his corner: head coach Joe Gibbs.
"For me, I'm glad John Hall is kicking for us," Gibbs said on Tuesday. "I like veteran guys, particularly when it comes to field goals. He is somebody who has won a bunch of games. I think John is probably his own worst critic, but I have a lot of confidence in him. I think we're in good hands there."
Hall had made three field goals earlier in Monday's game, but all three were less than 30 yards. The 48-yarder, which would have tied the game at 19-19, was his longest of the game and it sailed wide left.
"The [missed] field goal didn't cost us the game," Gibbs said. "He hit others. We have to find a way to make plays all the way across the board."
Hall, a 10-year NFL veteran in his fourth year in Washington, is coming off two injury plagued seasons. He believes he is fully healthy now after undergoing off-season surgery to address recurring soreness in his hamstring and groin.
Last year, Hall was sidelined early on with a groin injury. Overall, he connected on 12-of-14 field goal attempts in the 2005 season. He hit his longest field goal of the season in the postseason, a 47-yarder in Tampa Bay, to help the Redskins win 17-10 in the Wild Card round.
A week later, in the Divisional Playoffs against Seattle, Hall connected on a 26-yard field goal in the first quarter, but his 38-yard fourth-quarter attempt was wide left. The Redskins lost to Seattle 20-10.
With Derrick Frost taking over kickoff duties, Hall is focused solely on field goals at this point of his career.
Asked about the missed field goal, Hall said: "This has happened before and I've always bounced back. You throw yourself out in the middle of the ring like that, sometimes you get knocked down and you have to get back up. That's what I plan on doing."
-- DUCKETT'S ROLE
#### -- DISPUTED PENALTY
Joe Gibbs said he would send film of Monday's game to the league office asking for a review of a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty called on Sean Taylor early in the fourth quarter.
On the play, Vikings quarterback Brad Johnson threw an incomplete pass to wide receiver Marcus Robinson on a deep sideline route. Taylor hit Robinson just after the pass had sailed past, and referees flagged Taylor.
"That [hit] was not with a helmet," Gibbs said.
The penalty was significant because the Vikings were pinned deep in their own territory and it afforded them improved field position.
Said Gibbs: "The play needs to be called what it is, and in that case we didn't feel it was the right call. We're going to turn it to try and help our officials as best we can. There are a couple of plays like that we'll turn in and we'll see what they say."
