"Larry Johnson has been eager all offseason to show not just Redskins coaches, but the entire league, that he's capable of matching the production of his early career. He'll have to wait at least one more week.

Johnson's preseason debut was a disappointment. He managed only four yards on eight carries in the Redskins' ugly 23-3 loss Saturday night at FedEx Field.

Johnson had impressed coaches in the offseason workouts and performed well in training camp. He said his performance Saturday's negates a lot of the progress he has shown.

"I feel personally it set me back a lot," Johnson said. "I did go out there and practice hard every day and try to see if it could translate over to today. Obviously it didn't do that."

As tough as Johnson's night turned out, the rest of the Redskins' running game didn't fare much better. Facing a strong Baltimore front seven, Washington managed only 25 yards on 14 carries. Midway through the preseason schedule, no one has made a strong case to unseat Clinton Portis as the team's starting running back or even challenge him for carries.

Johnson said he's not sure how much action he'll see against the New York Jets Friday, but given his lackluster performance against the Ravens, he knows he doesn't have many more opportunities to make his case. He said he'll ask coaches for as much time as possible, even requesting fourth-quarter carries in the Redskins' final two preseason games.

For the most part, Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan has been tight-lipped about how he intended to juggle playing-time in the preseason, but he didn't mind sharing his strategy for the running backs. The Redskins added Johnson and Willie Parker as free agents in the offseason to challenge Portis, and while coaches have raved about all three in practices, they know that game situations provide the best measuring stick."