Defense suffered along with Griffin: After he was hurt last season, unit tumbled in the league rankings.

Byline: Paul Woody

Jul. 29--ASHBURN The difficult thing about getting hurt during the season is that a player can return to action, but that doesn't mean he has recovered from the injury.

Cornelius Griffin, a Washington Redskins defensive tackle, suffered a hip injury five games into the 2006 season. He missed the next two weeks before returning to the starting lineup. But he was not the defensive tackle who had given the Redskins many dominating performances.

"If you're not 100 percent, you can't play 100 percent," Griffin said after a practice session at training camp. "But my thing is, if I can play, I play. Don't stand around and whine. Some …