SB Nation - Marcus Mason

Hogs Haven Predicts Redskins Final 53

Ken Meringolo — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:32:30 -0000

More photos » by Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP

Robert Henson and Cody Glenn may both benefit from being drafted by Vinny Cerrato. He HATES to cut players he drafts!

First, the obvious: Sugar has been shelved for the time being. I will be tackling a new writing assignment within SB Nation and I was asked to come up with a cooler name to write under. The best I could come up with was "Ken Meringolo". I know what you're thinking...sounds too much like an undercover secret agent of international intrigue. I guess you could say I followed the lead of one my heroes, Lt. Frank Drebin, and decided to use my maiden name.

Not that many tears (besides mine) will be shed over it, but Sugar will most assuredly be back. I will keep you guys posted on when and where my other writing assignments will end up. But on to the issues of the day.

Here is our crack at predicting the Redskins "Final 53". We have all been watching the preseason closely--there won't be many surprises. But we are picking a couple. Have at it (after the jump):

QB (3): Jason Campbell, Todd Collins, Colt Brennan

RB (5): Clinton Portis, Ladell Betts, Rock Cartwright, Mike Sellers, Anthony Alridge

WR (5): Santana Moss, Antwaan Randle El, Devin Thomas, Malcolm Kelly, Marko Mitchell

TE (3): Chris Cooley, Fred Davis, Todd Yoder

OL (9): Chris Samuels, Derrick Dockery, Casey Rabach, Randy Thomas, Stephon Heyer, Chad Rinehart, Mike Williams, Jeremy Bridges, Will Montgomery

DL (9): Phillip Daniels, Albert Haynesworth, Cornelius Griffin, Anthony Montgomery, Kedric Golston, Lorenzo Alexander, Andre Carter, Jeremy Jarmon, Rob Jackson

LB (7): London Fletcher, Rocky McIntosh, Brian Orakpo, H.B. Blades, Chris Wilson, Cody Glenn, Robert Henson

DB (9): Carlos Rogers, DeAngelo Hall, Fred Smoot, Kevin Barnes, Justin Tryon, LaRon Landry, Chris Horton, Reed Doughty, Kareem Moore

P: Hunter Smith

LS: Ethan Albright

K: Dave Rayner

I put Rob Jackson in over Renaldo Wynn, Robert Henson in over Robert Thomas, Rayner over Suisham, and Anthony Alridge in over whomever you want to call the 53rd man to make it.

Why do I continue to keep Renaldo Wynn off my final 53 list? If you think like me, then you think Wynn is not really a guy who is going to get a lot of snaps anyway unless there is an injury. Rob Jackson is still a little young and raw, and I have not heard his name a ton but if you are going to keep a guy around to caddy for the rest of the defensive linemen, why not keep a young guy who has a shot to develop into a serviceable backup instead of a guy at the end of his rope who has played all of his best football already? This is the pick I will most likely be wrong about, as Renaldo Wynn is a pro who knows how to play the game, and was brought in for his leadership and experience this offseason. But I had to stay true to what I have been saying this summer.

The Robert Henson/Cody Glenn/Robert Thomas decision at linebacker is a little more straight-forward. I think Cody Glenn is at the head of the 3-pack. The decision between Henson and Thomas is not so hard when you remember one thing: Vinny drafted Henson. He hates to be wrong about his draft picks. And lucky for him, he is in the position to pronounce his rightness! Henson has made a few mental blunders during games this preseason, and dropping that sure interception against the Ravens hurt him (coming out of TCU, he was actually graded as a sure-handed linebacker.) But in the end, the team will keep the guy they picked in the draft, and drop the guy they signed off the street. Regardless of who is better--though let's not make that out to be a huge deal. Neither Henson nor Thomas factors huge for us this season, and if Henson can figure out to stay on the field for special teams by mid-season, he will be worth the investment. Finally, it says here that Robert Henson will pull off an Alfred Fincher kind of performance against the Jags and earn the spot.

Anthony Alridge...really? Vinny brought him in this offseason and the word from the inside of the building is that Vinny loves him too much to let him go. What's not to love? He is one of those "yards-per-touch" guys. He is going to get the ball in the flat on screens, pitches, and dump-offs and he is going to get upfield in a hurry. I know Marcus Mason has been a fan favorite to make this squad multiple times, but the fact of the matter is he does not give us something we don't already have. Alridge gives us a scatback, speed option off the bench that will prove very useful this season.

I went with Rayner over Suisham even though there seems to be a resounding consensus that Suisham will retain his position. I FEEL LIKE I AM TAKING CRAZY PILLS! How do you hold any benefit of the doubt in a kicking competition when you were last in the league in field goal percentage? Rayner has had the better kickoff leg and neither has blown the roof off with their field goals. If anything, I would be tempted to keep Rayner and then bring in either Mike Nugent (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) or Brandon Coutu (Seattle Seahawks)--helps to watch every preseason game!--to compete with Rayner in the week leading up to the regular season. Coutu has a good chance to make the Seahawks' roster, but if he doesn't, we wouldn't be the only ones trying to sign him.

Practice Squad Predictions: Edwin Williams, Scott Burly, Keith Eloi, Robbie Agnone, Chase Daniel, Eddie Williams

WaTimes 53-man roster [Redskins 360]
WaPost 53-man roster [Redskins Insider]
Redskins Blog [Terl took his link down...I swore it was there?]

What do you guys think?

Poll

Which player that I put in do you think is most likely NOT to make the team?

Robert Henson

113 votes

Anthony Alridge

226 votes

Rob Jackson

263 votes

602 votes | Poll has closed

Redskins QBs to face LaRon Landry's Older Brother, Dawan Landry

KevinE — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:40:48 -0000

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I was perusing the Raven's weekly release guide to tonight's game and came across a bunch of interesting tidbits, including a brief Q&A with LaRon Landry's brother, Dawan (a 6'0, 210 pound strong safety for Baltimore, four years out of Georgia Tech):

Your younger brother, LaRon, is a starting safety for Washington. Did you compete much while growing up?

"At everything. We played all sports - football, basketball, baseball. We grew up with a lot of older cousins, so we were always playing with them around the house. Whatever sport was in season, that's what we were playing. LaRon was smaller than us, so he was always the last one to get picked. I think that worked out the best for him. That's why he's so competitive now."

Do you think LaRon looked up to you?

"I would say so. He saw that I have a hard work ethic. Growing up, he didn't really have much of a work ethic. But, when I went to college, he saw how I got bigger and things like that. So, that transferred over to the way he looked at the game, and he started taking his game to another level."

When you were rehabbing from your spine/neck injury last year, what was going through your mind to motivate you?

"I was really feeling my game at the time I got hurt. I think I was playing the best football I had ever played. The injury made me sit back and realize that maybe it wasn't really my time yet. I just stayed focused and kept working hard."

I edited out the questions about what it means to be a Raven. Yawn. The one thing I found odd is that that the player Dawan MOST wanted to play with when asked is Ray Lewis. Being a strong safety, wouldn't he want to team up with his brother who is a free safety?

Note: The Washington Post posted a very in-look article on the Landry brothers dating back to their youth.

Some other notables from the guide include the Ravens' key additions/releases and all the connections between the players of the 2 teams. There are some good ones including the return of the name, Mark Carrier:

Key Additions
C Matt Birk (Min.) - Free Agent
CB/RS Chris Carr (Ten.) - Free Agent
CB Domonique Foxworth (Atl.) - Free Agent
TE L.J. Smith (Phi.) - Free Agent

Key Losses (w/ Starting Experience)
QB Kyle Boller (STL) - Free Agent
C Jason Brown (STL) - Free Agent
DT Marques Douglas (NYJ) - Free Agent
S Jim Leonhard (NYJ) - Free Agent
CB Chris McAlister - Unsigned Free Agent
K Matt Stover - Unsigned Free Agent
LB Bart Scott (NYJ) - Free Agent

Retirement
T Willie Anderson (13 NFL Seasons / 4 Pro Bowls)

Anyone else find it comical that Kyle Boller is listed as a "Key loss?" Those are some serious losses as well, when compared to the additions. The Ravens draft went as such:

Rd. Pick Name Pos. Ht Wt College
1 23 Michael Oher T 6-4 310 Mississippi
2 57 Paul Kruger LB/DE 6-4 260 Utah
3 88 Lardarius Webb DB 5-10 175 Nicholls State
5 137 Jason Phillips ILB 6-1 244 TCU
5 149 Davon Drew TE 6-4 255 East Carolina

The interesting battle to watch will be Oher versus Orakpo. A lot of Redskins Nation fans wanted the Redskins to draft Oher, who, no doubt is very much needed on the Skins O-line. I expect Orakpo to win this battle given everything I have seen in camp so far.

Other tidbits:
- Ravens secondary coach Mark Carrier played CB in 2000 with the Redskins, marking the final season of his 11-year career.

- Ravens swept the NFC East last year, including a win at Dallas' last game at Irvin Stadium.

- Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron (QBs/WR, 1986-93) coached Redskins QB Todd Collins (1990-94) while at the University of Michigan. Additionally, Cameron served 3 seasons (1994-96) as the Redskins' QBs coach.

- Redskins RB Marcus Mason spent the first 8 weeks of the2008 regular season on the Ravens' practice squad.

- From 2006-07, Ravens QB Joe Flacco and Redskins TE Robbie Agnone developed a solid tandem in 2 seasons together at Delaware. The duo combined to produce 55 receptions for 725 yards and 9 TDs.

- Ravens LB Jason Phillips and Redskins LB Robert Henson started in all 12 games at TCU last season.

- Ravens G Ben Grubbs spent 2003-04 protecting Redskins QB Jason Campbell at Auburn

There are 8 players representing the "U" in tonights game...name em.

August 4: Our Recap from Training Camp Today

KevinE — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:05:04 -0000

Another sweltering hot day. The practice started for QBs with Zorn throwing the ball on the ground and each Qb having to fall on it in a spooning/sliding fashion. Colt did it the best of the three. Todd Collins seemed to run up to it, squat, and fall on it which drew laughter from the crowd. Campbell also had an awkward fall on it which resulted in a quick lecture from Zorn.

Next up was practicing 15 yard screen passes. The QB would drop back and then Zorn would yell which square he wants the QB to throw in. Campbell's first pass was a direct shot, but he got a quick lecture on Zorn on footwork. The drill reminded me of a dunk-tank at a county fair. The crowd would go crazy any time the ball caught into one of the squares.

Next, the Qbs ran this drill on the run. Todd Collins looked a lot more consistent than the previous day I saw him (Saturday). The subsequent drill removed the net and insert in tight ends (no coverage). Fred Davis made a nice grab and his turn and momentum up-field is very impressive. As Sugar said before, Fred Davis is going to make himself known this year.

Hunter Smith was doing a few drills today. He was catching some Ethan Albright snaps for place kicking...one-handed. Everything Terl covered with Hunter being the best holder of all time appears to be true. I asked Suisham if Hunter has made a big difference. "Yes" he replied. "How is it different than Durant's hold", I asked. Suisham thought for a few seconds, laughed, and replied, "It just is." Seems to go with what Hunter said that every ball he puts down is the exact same, smooth motion.

At 9:30AM the horn sounded and the 11-11 drills commenced. I took notes of every single play, so here they are in sequential order:

- Fincher comes straight through into the backfield

- London Fletcher came in untouched and Campbell throws an INT. Zorn shouts "You got to earn it offense!"'

- JC fumbles snap

- Heyer slightly false started, Sellers held, but JC finished the play and connected on a long bomb to Randle-El to the crowd's delight.

- Todd Collins completes a nice throw over the middle to Trent Shelton

- False start

- Todd Collins 5-yard slant complete pass.

- Sweep to Alridge for no gain.

- Fred Davis goes in motion and stops as fullback. Colt hikes and looks for a screen to Fed which is well-covered, so Colt scrambles out of bounds.

- Jeremy Jarmon burns Jeremy Bridges and is able to bat down Colt's screen attempt

- Campbell quick slant to Randle-El for short gain (I got a flashback to 2008)

- Campbell overthrows Fred Davis. Cornelius Griffin got to the QB first.

- Betts run left for a few yards.

- Quick pass for 3-yards to Hagans. Will Montgomery playing Center and lost his battle.

- Anthony Alridge bobbles the handle off and fumbles. Kareem Moore scoops it up. Fan screams "Cut his ass!" which drew a laugh

- Dominque Dorsey runs left for a 5 yard gain before defense gets to him

- Todd Collins screen to Marcus Mason who runs down the sideline and takes a full hit from Robert Henson

--- Drills now switch to Red Zone ---

- Antonio Dixon gets in the backfield. Portis stopped for a loss.

- Campbell has lots of protection and scrambles up the middle for a TD

- Collins nice fade pass to Marko Mitchell for a TD

- Betts runs left for a TD. No LBs were there to cover that side and Robert Thomas was the closest one.

- Colt has a really nice play-action fake bootleg and throws a pass to Fred Davis in the end-zone. Zorn throws his hands up in the air in celebration.

- Pitch to Marcus Mason which is broken up by Rocky McIntosh behind the line of scrimmage.

- Colt Brennan can't find an open WR...looks around and runs out of bounds. Gets some coaching from Zorn.

- Dominique Dorsey run up the middle. Albert Haynesworth is an absolute wall on this play. No gain.

--- Back to normal field plays ---

- Offense is clicking now. Todd Collins completing passes. Blache is using prevent defense.

- Next 2 plays are Todd Collins interceptions.

I was able to talk to several players post practice which I'll write up shortly once I get my audio converted over (Moss, Cooley, Daniels, Henson). Overall, the offense did look better. They weren't getting run-over like I saw on Saturday. Phillip Daniels confirmed this when I asked him about it. Other notes: Orakpo continued to shine burning Samuels on one play (oohs and aaah's from crowd). Fincher was also very disruptive. It is still way too early to pass judgement on playes. Once they see some real game time can we make evaluations. Roydell Williams is out 3-6 weeks so the door seemed to have opened for Hagans, who looked strong, and Marko Mitchell.

August 1: Our Recap from Training Camp

KevinE — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 17:30:23 -0000

More photos » by Evan Vucci - AP

4 months ago: Washington Redskins head coach Jim Zorn, right, looks on as quarterback Jason Campbell throws a pass during NFL football training camp at Redskins Park on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009 in Ashburn, Va. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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I made it over to a sweltering Redskins Park today to catch day three of Redskins practice. They were in pads and were tackling at times. Joe Jacoby and Joe Theismann were on-hand as well.

Did not practice: Carlos Rogers (soreness) and FB Eddie Williams (hamstring injury)

Here's my notes:

- Rookie mistakes stood out.
Marko Mitchell dropped an easy ball. Anthony Alridge also dropped an easy pass and fumbled on a hand-off exchange. On the 1-1 drills Kevin Barnes and Doug Dutch got worked over.

- Devin Thomas did not drop a ball all day.

- Santana Moss looks like he is in mid-season form.
(Made a diving catch in the center of the end zone)

The QBs were the only unit that were front and center the entire practice for the crowd. It is crystal clear that Campbell is the best Quarterback of the four out there. And this is not me saying this is a fan or personal preference...it's just a fact after watching them all throw.

- Jason Campbell looked good
(Had a lot of zip on the ball, but had a couple of bad tosses and a couple plays where he held the ball too long. He had a gorgeous 30-yard pass to Todd Yoder, threading the ball through a lunging Laron Landry)

- Todd Collins did not look good today.
(Overthrows and didn't see a blitzer on another play)

- Colt Brennan was up and down
(Had some nice throws but missed fired on a cross pattern to Moss and held the ball too long on other plays)

Offense spent 15 minutes doing red zone drills. One of which was a corner slant to Malcolm Kelly who was 1-1 with Fred Smoot. Campbell threw a perfect ball, which Kelly went up for but Smoot made an incredible play to break it up. Too bad I didn't hear the audio afterwards on that.

- Chris Horton made an incredible play to break up a pass to Santana.

- Albert Fincher was all over the field. Made multiple plays.

- Keith Eloi and Malcom Kelly both had spectacular catches

As for the lines:

One one play, Renaldo Wynn absolutely barrelled over Mike Williams putting him on his back. The next play Wynn tried a speed move around and Williams had excellent footwork to keep him outside the pocket. So, it's clear Mike is still has a lot of catchup to do regarding the physical part of the game. It was quite impressive however on a running play for Marcus Mason, Mike Williams pushed left and created a running lane the size of I-95.

Haynesworth wasn't in on that play. Speaking of Haynesworth, he was getting double-teamed all the times I saw. He was giving Derrick Dockery fits today.

Chris Wilson stood out multiple times playing left end. His first step off the line ia a blur. He got to the QB real quick.

Orakpo played a few snaps with his hands on the dirt. One play was a run right at him and he bear-hugged the RB immediately. No gain.

Coach Thrash helping in QB drills
via photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net

Here's the link to Redskins.com practice notes and quotes:

"The defensive line is wreaking havoc in our backfield right now. We have to block these guys. I'm excited on one hand, and then on the other I want to get going, too." - Coach Zorn

Zorn called the offensive line a "work in progress."

"I've seen some things I've wanted to see, but we're not done yet," he said. "Our guys are working hard and they're going to get better."

He said that while Stephon Heyer is working with the first team offensive line, he has not yet secured the starting job. He won't determine that until after preseason games.

The only real downer of the day is that a bottled water cost $4. In that heat, water is imperative and I was none too happy at those kind of prices. The burgers ($6) and bag of chips ($2) seemed fair, but for $4 a bottled water, I'd almost rather pass out and let the EMS hydrate me for free. There was a single, misting fan available but there was an army of kids hogging enjoying that.

Daily Slop: Training Camp Is Here

KevinE — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 11:04:41 -0000

via farm2.static.flickr.com

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I'm not sure about you guys, but it feels like Christmas morning to me. Twitter world is blowing up that the Loudon County Parkway is already jammed with cars trying to filter into Redskins Park. Grills are burning...yes, officially football is back. I am tentatively planning to attend camp this coming Tuesday, August 4th.

- Joe Gibbs rated 17th best coach of all time...of ALL sports [WaTimes]
(For cleaning up Spurrier's mess he should be automatic top 5)

- Chris Cooley absolutely destroys Cowboys fans in latest blog [Cooley Zone]

- Haynesworth has yet to find a house after looking at 40 of them [Tennessean]

-Redskinettes Calendar Release Party tonight in D.C. [redskins.com]

- WaTimes writer Ryan O'Halloran makes his 53-man roster predictions [WaTimes]
(RB cuts: Anthony Alridge, Marcus Mason and Eddie Williams...Dorsey makes it as the 4th RB)
(Roydell Williams the 5th WR...Marko gets cut)

OK...prediction time...I'll post mine in the comments as to not influence yours.

1.) Who will be the surprise player to make the squad?

2.) Who will be the surprise cut?

3.) Who will be the first Redskin to sit out a full practice w/ a tweak/injury?

4.) Who (if any) of 3 will make the squad? Marcus Mason, Dominique Dorsey, Anthony Alridge

5.) Who will win the 5th WR Spot?

6.) Does Zorn say the word 'golly' in any of his interviews today?

Hogs Haven chats with Redskins LB Robert Henson

KevinE — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:45:08 -0000

Robert Henson with newlywed wife Sarah.

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Ken (Sugar) and I had the great opportunity to spend dinner with 6th round pick Robert Henson, his new wife Sarah, and her son Malichi last Wednesday at the Red, Hot, and Blue in Ashburn. We really appreciate the time they took to meet with us, and I would like to also thank Robert's agent, Pat Capra, for being so cooperative in helping set this up. We covered everything from his offseason progression, TCU, draft day, Jason Taylor, London Fletcher, Deion Sanders, Madden Football, Colt Brennan, tough guy Ethan Albright and how the Redskins are improving. When we first sat down, we learned that Robert was three hours away from receiving his degree at TCU in criminal justice. So congratulations to Robert. I of course mentioned that the Bengals could certainly use his knowledge once his playing days are over.

The first topic we touched on was draft day. Robert told us that only a few teams had really spoken to him seriously leading up to the draft (Texans, Colts, Chargers).

Sugar: How did you come to be drafted by the Skins? Was there a connection? A coach, or former teammate with ties to the Washington organization?

Sarah: Well, Vinny Cerrato's sister goes to the same church as our family. I happened to see her in the last week or two leading up to the draft, and of course was like, "Put in a good word for Robert!"

Robert: It ended up working out for us. Vinny was able to call his sister and get some background on me and some of the "supposed" character issues that I had. It was easy for him to figure out quickly that there was nothing to those stories.

Sugar: Did Vinny call you when we picked you? Who called you?

Robert: Dan Snyder called me. It was very cool.

Kevin: TCU plays a similar defense to the Redskins but they actually ran a 4-2-5. That will help you I'd imagine.

Robert: The TCU zone blitz. I had to cover receivers man-to-man. Vertical and out. It teaches you patience and the right angles and all of that.

Kevin: So it's settled. You and London can be the two.

Robert: [laughing] London is definitely up on all the plays. I've seen him make checks that even the coaches didn't notice. And the coaches will be like "that's a good idea" and write it down. London's the most under-rated LB I know. He's not flashy. He makes plays and then gets back up and goes into the huddle. He's not a Ray Lewis-type which is my type of football. I celebrate a lot. Emotional. I'm crazy on the field. I'm a different person. But from what I heard London is the same way. I'm learning a lot from him. He's not giving me too much though because at the end of the day this is a competition, and I respect that. KO [LB coach Kirk Olivadotti] though been helping me a lot.

Sugar: Seeing some of the the youtube tape of your skills, I think you'd be able to contribute to special teams right away. Do you think you'll be able to crack that lineup right away?

Robert: Oh yea. I feel like I can. Danny [Smith]'s been doing a great job working with me and helping me learn the concepts. What I like about him is he always puts us in a position to win.

If you look at my career at TCU, that's all I did. First 3 years I thought I'd jump into the starting role but it didn't happen. So the first 3 years I played with a vengeance on special teams, busting my ass there, so it'll probably be the same way here. Danny's been helping me learn the concepts and putting me in a position to win. Even in OTAs I was doing a good job in special teams. I can't wait. I'd give ANYTHING to be on the opening kickoff of the Super Bowl. I would have been screaming down the field! It'd be crazy.

Sugar: They outlawed the wedge you know?

Robert: Doesn't matter. I'll run down there and knock people out.

Sugar then brought up how Cooley's rookie year he had to play the wedge, getting cracked each time--just before they outlawed that formation. Too bad there's no video of this.

Robert: Man, the NFC East is tight. I know the press is going to give it to the Eagles or Cowboys, but that's alright, I like being the underdog.

Sugar: Come across any fans or players yet regarding the Cowboys rivalry?

Robert: Yea, it's one of the more storied rivalries. I used to think there was some respect there but there isn't. What game was it they didn't shake hands?

Kevin: I think that's every game. I know Smoot one year sat down all the rookies and brought them up to speed on what the Cowboys games mean to this city.

Robert: You know, I said I wasn't going to be star-struck coming here, but it's crazy going to be playing next to these guys.

Sugar: Who's the biggest name you saw that you were like "Wow."

KevinE: Hunter Smith?

Robert: Ethan Albright! [laughing]

Sugar: The Red Snapper!

Robert: I'll never forget the first day of punting meetings....Ethan walked up to me and said, "I see they got you at left guard. You better punch that damn A-gap or if you don't I'm gonna punch your ass. I'm a 16-year vet and I'm not going to be running down the field chasing somebody because you made a mistake." [laughing]

Robert: I see great players and I always want to know if they can take a hit.

Kevin: So you won't have any problems if Brandon Jacobs is coming at you full steam?

Robert: Anytime a RB that big makes into the secondary, it's not going to be good. I've see LaRon knock some people out. I got ran over by Garrett Wolfe in college. It was because he had better position. I was coming off a block and he just ran through me.

KevinE: Gary Wolfe was a punter, right?

Robert: [laughing] That game was crazy. LT came in the locker room at half and said 'Do not let this guy pass me in yards,' but in this defensive scheme, if you can run and tackle, playing mic, you're going to have a successful career.

...time to order. We both go with the ribs and iced tea. Robert went with the ribs and shrimp as well. I wish I knew Garrett Wolfe was a 5'7 RB...I wouldn't have let that slide so easily!!

Robert: So they just took off all the decals on the rookie helmets.

We then told him the story of Smoot getting hazed as a rookie...getting taped to the goal post.

Robert: It's really tamed down. I remember hearing Colt had to get up and sing but that was really it. It's mostly verbal. The same guy cuts all of our hair so I can be in the middle of a haircut and they'll be like 'get up' so I'm sitting there with half my hair.

Kevin: Doesn't Vinny Cerrato do the haircuts?

Robert: Haha. No.

Sugar: Did you meet Dan Snyder when you first got to DC?

Robert: Oh yea. Right away. He was making sure I was situated and everything ... Oh man! I was at Santana's birthday bash at the ESPN Zone and this lady gets up and says to me, "What's going on with Dan Snyder? I don't get the picks we made in this year's draft?" I was thinking to myself, "Ugh.... I'm just gonna let it go." [laughing] I heard a lot of people saying, "Why didn't we draft an offensive lineman in the 6th round?" I like making people eat words. Going from "Why the hell did we pick him" to..."I knew he was the man!"

Kevin: You have a nickname in college?

Robert: Hen-Dog. [laughing] When I was a freshman they all called me Hen-Pup. I hate it. [laughing] You gotta earn your nickname.

Sarah: That's what I still call him.

We then began started talking about Albert Haynesworth...

Robert: Little Albert is quite a character too. His son comes to practice. I look up he'll be on the turf field and I look up again and he's up by the bridge, and I'm like "How did he make it there that quick?"

KevinE: How old is he?

Robert: Probably 9. Albert's a monster. I would love to play behind him. The first 5 yards are on him. What you do with those first 5 yards is up to you. 5 yards just to run and in a game of inches it makes all the difference.

Yea. When I talked to Coach Olivadotti the day of the draft he said, "I like the way you tackle in open space and every LB I bring in has gotta be able to tackle." H.B. [Blades] is the same way.

Kevin: Did you guys do that at TCU too? Where your front four hold the line? Because that's where some fans get antsy...paying Albert all this money and not letting him drive forward.

Robert: Yea, we did that. I think people will be shocked with Albert this year. I know a lot of people said once he got that big contract he wasn't gonna play. But he's been working his ass off. And I'm not saying that just because I'm his teammate. I see it every day and he's working his ass off.

Sugar: Adding a guy like him on defense is big for us. It should help with getting sacks, turnovers...the big plays, you know?

Robert: You know what. No offense to Jason Taylor...he's a great player, great speed rusher, but he was getting knocked back on the run. He's more of a finesse player. He's not into the big hits and only got them when the quarterback had his back to him. I think age has caught up to him too. That first step used to be fast watching him with the Dolphins...it was like a blur. He's still got it, but not like he used to.

Kevin: Not for $8 mil! ha.

Re-fills of ice tea. We started talking about how the defense is called in and learning the play calls.

Robert: Man, all those hand signals coming from the sidelines [in college], that's no good. Now...what a blessing it is no more hand-signals. They call in the play. I'm glad we're mic'd up.

Kevin: You mic'd up?

Robert: Yeah, I have been practicing some with the mic.

Sugar: They'll move you all around on this squad...the coaches here do a good job of that.

Robert: Yea I was watching film on one game and HB played every position.

KevinE: It's funny to see that both HB and London are 5'10.

Robert: Yea [laughing]. Everyone's like 'you're bigger than all of the other LBs.'

KevinE: What do you think London's 40 is right now?

Robert: I'd give him a 4'6. It's crazy...his legs are moving!

Sugar: Who is the fastest man on the team?

Robert: Keith Eloi. 4.21 or 4.23. Alridge is another fast one. I like little guys that. They make a wrong cut and you can knock em out though. Marcus Mason is another fast one.

Sugar: So you've probably seen the schedule by now. You scoped it out?

Robert: I told myself I'm not going to look at the schedule until I make the 53.

Sugar: What about some other guys you played in college with the last year or two.

Robert: Our safety last year Stephen Hodge got drafted by the Cowboys. We were playing up the rivalry. Jason Phillips went to Baltimore. The last few years we haven't got much respect in the draft. Two guys made it last year. David Roach the Safety (Rams) and David Hawthorne to Seattle. We'll see each other game day.

Sarah Henson: They have a wager already.

Robert: If we win, he has to wear a Redskins jersey for the week and vice versa.

Kevin: Oh man...you should make him wear a Redskins' Deion Sanders jersey.

Robert: I was up here after mini-camp in the airport and I had all my Skins gear on and everyone was like 'Hey, congratulations!' and I forgot I was flying home to Dallas so I got off the plane and everyone was like "What the hell is wrong with you?" and I'm getting crazy looks. Man...the day after the draft. I could not find any Skins gear anywhere. Nothing. All I found was a draft cap.

Kevin: Did you ever look at your scout profiles online before the draft and how accurate they were?

Robert: Sarah told me not to read those things because she thinks it'll get me down, but my whole life has been proving people wrong. Everybody has this perception about me that I'm an average player. If you ask me, I step up every time and surpass expectations.

Sugar: And they're wrong more than they are right.

Robert: Yea, I mean these are the people that live in their mom's basement and blog. One guy said I was too aggressive or something like that and I'm bad on the play-action. I don't know.

KevinE: Well, it doesn't matter now because you're in the League. So I printed out one...I can read it to you and see what you think.

Robert: Haha, OK.

Kevin: "Henson is a natural athlete with great agility and speed (4.61). He moves fluidly and has excellent lateral range. He lacks upper the body strength to take on double teams, and also lacks pass rushing skills. Struggling to shed blockers."

Robert: That’s true [shedding blockers].

Kevin: Henson also tends to over pursue against the run.

Robert: No.

Kevin: He has also missed some tackles and he needs to work on his fundamentals.

Robert: Everyone misses tackles. That’s crazy. [laughing]

Kevin: I read that you worked with T.J. Slaughter on hand placement. When was that?

Robert: When I was at PrimeU...yeah, shedding tackles. And KO has done a great job with that. He makes me hit the bag everyday. So I’m learning proper hand placement. Not to say anything bad about my TCU coaches, we just didn’t do a lot of fundamental drills. Everything was so cerebral and fast-paced, you just had to be smart and make sure you were in the right position. And in college I never really had to take on blockers. I could just do hand-movements and run around people. At this level I’m gonna meet some offensive lineman, you know? This defense is built to run over the top. I’ve learned how critical the first 2 steps are and they can’t be wasted.

(There is video of Robert at Prime U with Deion)

Sugar: TCU jumps off the page defensively. Second in the nation last year?

Robert: We didn’t get respect because of the conference we played in. We have BYU and Utah, but we played some good RBs. We’ve only given up 100 yards twice in my career. One was to SMU which was a fluke and then Devin Moore. He earned EVERY yard. We were knocking him around. He’s a good RB. I was licking my chops to play Ian Johnson.

Kevin: How is Cody Glenn looking?

Robert: Cody’s looking good, man. We’re pushing each other in the weight room every day. We were doing 7 on 7 today and me and him were in the huddle talking getting everyone riled up. He’s going to be a good guy to have in the locker room. For real.

Sugar: And Orakpo?

Robert: Orakpo is crazy strong. I think a lot of people will be surprised at how well he’ll fit into this defense. KO is drilling him about his coverages and is getting him right-ready. He’s working hard in the weight room too. He’s doing everything to be successful. His pass rush is crazy. In OTA’s he did a good job of getting that inside hand on that blocker. Shedding em like crazy.

Kevin. Was he going against Chris Samuels?

Robert: No…he was going against Jeremy Bridges…maybe Heyer. I can’t remember. But we’re not in pads so…

Sugar: What do you see in Jason Campbell?

Robert: Man. Jason is working hard. He definitely throws the ball further than a lot of people think he can. He can launch. I think people underestimate him. It’s just my personal opinion from looking at last year, but after Santana, he didn’t really have a reliable second option for any length of time. Malcolm’s coming along. He’s looking real good. He’s making crazy catches.

I think when you see how big he is, you’re like "I can run with him." But he’s fast. Deceptively fast. And don’t sleep on Devin. Roydell made some good plays. Eloi is a good receiver.

Kevin: At TCU you were on the leadership council, were the verbal leader, and did a lot of off-field stuff with your teammates to build chemistry. You finding any of that here in DC? Hang out with players off the field?

Robert: Lately I’ve just been going home. Right now my best friend is the film room, KO and Danny Smith [laughing]. I’ve been hanging out with them more than anybody. All the rookies we try to go out and do stuff. They’re at a movie right now. Bowling and all that stuff.

Sugar: "The Hangover"?

Robert: Nah. "Transformers" I think. I saw "The Hangover" last week.

KevinE: So you're not hanging with Fred?

Robert: Haha. No. I’ve seen a lot of guys make mistakes. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I just go straight home and rarely go out.

Sugar: They spend a lot of time harping on that with you guys? Making sure the rookies be careful?

Robert: Coach Zorn mentioned it a couple times to keep your mind on your business and your business is football, but no, not really. It’s easy to make a mistake. Stallworth and all those guys. Everyone goes there separate way after practice. My first year at TCU was fun-fun-fun, but it gets old. I represent myself and my family. If I do something then it affects everyone not to mention it will get blown out of proportion.

Sugar: What’s the rest of your summer looking like?

Robert: Workouts. And I’ll meet up with Prime [Deion Sanders] and Omar [Stoutmire] again. Crazy that they both played here in DC too.

We started talking about Jeff George, which was quite comical…

Robert: You know who can still throw? TC. Todd Collins. He can THROW. I was dropping back in coverage thinking I was about to get him and that ball was there! I wouldn’t sleep on Colt Brennan either. Colt’s arm is crazy. You know what messes me up is his release. Most of the time you can time a quarterback’s release but that sidearm.

Sugar: The coaches get on him for that?

Robert: I haven’t been really paying attention to that. I’m mixed up in my own battles. I can’t touch the ball when he throws, but I’ll try to change that in training camp. I remember watching him in your pre-season game last year, and he did real good. Chase Daniel is faster than I thought he was. He was scrambling on one way and I had to get on my horse to go and get him. Haha. He’s smart. VERY smart. We were doing 7 on 7 today, and actually they only had 5 players. He was drawing up routes telling them what to run to get around certain players.

Kevin: So you’re #58…do you know of Wilbur Marshall?

Robert: Yea, I've heard of him. Well, one name I’ve heard a lot is Sam Huff. I got in trouble for not knowing the famous TCU guy that came to the Redskins. Sammy Baugh. I got in trouble for that one. But I know now.

(Quick note on Sammy Baugh at TCU: Sammy led TCU to two bowl game wins, a 3-2 victory over Louisiana State in the 1936 Sugar Bowl, and a 16-6 victory over Marquette in the first annual Cotton Bowl in 1937 after which he was named MVP. He finished fourth in voting for the Heisman Trophy in 1936.)

We wrapped up our dinner spending ten minutes talking about Madden. Robert claims he can beat anyone on any system. He openly challenged a few Skins but had no takers. I reminded him to ask Devin Thomas since he recently won a Madden tournament. Who you got your money on for that game? I'm taking Robert.

Out in the parking lot he had a brand new Mercedes S550 he was trying out, with an Easterns Motors sticker on the window. I asked him if we would ever be seeing him sing the "Your job's your credit!" song but he has no desire to sing it. Ever.

I can't say enough at how impressed I was by #58's motivation. You couldn't ask any more from a player when you see someone working this hard both on and off the field. If you still question his desire to compete, he knocked TWO Quarterbacks out of one game versus Wyoming. Here are some great video highlights of his TCU days from our draft-day write-up. It's equally impressive to see how much film time these guys are already putting in. With Robert's physical frame and speed, and everything he is absorbing from London, this kid's going to go real far. He reminded me of a quote that Deion Sanders pushes in his PrimeU camp, which motivates him:

"It's your physical ability that gets you to the NFL, it's your mind that keeps you here."

Shaun Alexander in the burgundy and gold?

Skin Patrol — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 01:08:02 -0000

Was news to me after reading this Fanpost via Romans12, confirmed at Redskins Insider:

Shaun Alexander, the former NFL rushing champ and MVP, is heading to Washington for a workout on Tuesday, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.

The reason for this is, of course, the injury to Ladell Betts. Fortunately it doesn't appear to be that cereal, with the Jasons reporting "sources with knowledge of the situation" claim this knee injury is of the two-week downtime variety. Without the foggiest idea on what Shaun Alexander would cost the team under contract, I'm unwilling to say signing him to help the team out in Betts' absence is all that good or bad of an idea. I do agree with reader joshp:

when youre bringing in someone and you need him to contribute right away, already knowing the system is a big deal.

(Although I hope he's wrong about Betts being on his way to IR.)

Hindsight being 20/20 and all that, maybe we should've just found a way to keep Marcus Mason on the team? Naw?

Of Redskins reviews, previews, and podcasts

Skin Patrol — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 16:02:31 -0000

I know most of you probably don't want to think about the debacle against Carolina, but the good news is that disaster may be the ass-booting the team needs to get back on track. It also occasioned the return of Post Game Heroes' phenomenally done Redskins game reviews. We've all gushed about the good work done at PGH which has also received high marks from a number of people, to quote one:

Post Game Heroes does some phenomenal breakdowns of games that blow what most mainstream media writers do out of the water.

And that's true, indeed they are some of the best reviews I've ever seen and continue to be today. I'm told via email that Dillweed has returned and intends to remain returned each and every week of the season. His game breakdowns against Carolina can be found here and here for offense and defense respectively. You'll need to go read both for full content, but I'll happily repeat his criticism of the offensive line. They bombed. Although no one was particularly good, both Jansen and Kendall were especially bad. Dillweed on Pete Kendall:

Started out looking confused...even flat out missing blocks due to lack of hustle. But later on he stepped it up with solid lead run blocking. Unfortunetly just when he was hitting his stride, JC and Betts coughed up the ball.

Kendall was 1/4 on +/- which Dillweed figures by watching the offensive linemen individually and determining whether they deserve high or low marks for their performance. He was equally down on Jansen (0/3), emphasis added:

Picked up where he left off last season against Miami. As far as the run game goes, we might be better off with Stephon Heyer. As far as the pass game goes...I don't know what we do with our RT position. Hopefully I'm wrong about Jansen being way past his prime and it was just lax pre-season preperation that did him in.

After starting 80 straight games for the 'Skins Jansen has since played just 32 in the last four seasons. He missed all of 2004 and virtually all of last year. In his last four years as a Redskin, Jansen has completed a full season just once, in 2006. At 32 Jansen is the 11th oldest player currently on the roster.

I hope Dillweed is wrong. There has hardly been a more quintessentially Redskin kind of guy than Jansen over the past decade, save maybe Chris Samuels -- Jansen is entering his 10th season as a 'Skin. Favorite memories are sparce for an offensive linemen and, really, the greatest offensive linemen are the ones you never hear about ("X just got beat there, John"), though I still fondly recall him playing through one broken thumb and one fractured thumb. Quite well, I might add.

Jansen gone clubbin'

via media.washingtonpost.com

Dillweed's offensive breakdown is likewise a real gift as he goes play by play explaining why and how fail happens. I'm already worried I've pilfered too much of his post, so let me just close with his blitz breakdown:

Down	Blitzers	Result
1st and 10	Rocky and Campbell (Fletch on the delay)	Completed pass for 20 yards
2nd and Goal	Campbell and Doughty	Sack by Golston and Doughty
2nd and 10	Rocky and Campbell	Run for -1 yards
1st and 10	Rocky and Campbell	Pass for 16 yards
1st and 5	Fletch and Rocky	Pass for a 24 yard touchdown.

In other words we blitzed 5 out of 31 plays (that Dillweed saw) which is ~16 percent of the time. And we sucked at it; average gain was something like 11 yards a play for Carolina.

Looking forward, and a gameday open thread plus a potential game preview is pending here, NFL.com has their Redskins season preview up. It's mostly boilerplate new coach, new scene, etc. They characterize Campbell's coming season thus:

On the hot seat

Quarterback Jason Campbell. If the Redskins don't get off to a fast start, there will be calls for Todd Collins, who was superlative in the final three-and-a-half regular-season games (5 TDs, 0 interceptions, 106.4 passer rating) last season after Campbell was lost with an injury.

And that is true. Jason Campbell is approaching the NFL's age of majority. A 4th year quarterback needs to show more marked improvement from day one to the present in order to keep his status as an NFL starter. And while I think Campbell is absolutely capable of doing so, the fact remains that he has to go out there and do it. There can be no more excuses about coordinator musical chairs. Reasonable milestones would be to maintain an above 60 completion % and improve those yards per pass to 7.0 or higher. More importantly he needs to start finishing games and absolutely must put the quietus on costly fumbles and picks.

Finally... a friend of mine called me a while back to let me know that I'd reached the pinnacle of modern existence; I was found via google. He had forgotten the URL for this space and decided to find it himself by simply entering my name into the world's largest search engine. It worked and, for now at least, my name is identifiable through a google search with the fine work done by Football Guys. I recently received an email from them and they managed to tie down John Keim of the Examiner (which is also the host of Mark Newgent's excellent blog). Their lede:

In This Episode: Cecil Lammey and Sigmund Bloom interviews John Keim, Redskins beat writer from the Washington Examiner and Warpath Insiders. Topics Include: is this a make or break year for Jason Campbell, does Marcus Mason make this team and will they carry 4 RBs, the 2008 outlook for Santana Moss, is Colt Brennan the QB of the future, plus more!

Answers and commentary are available on the podcast here, though I imagine they will have a written transcript up at some point. Enjoy.

More posts will be forthcoming later, as I have some catching up to do.