‘Skins Win In OT vs. Jags, 20-17

Rex Grossman came though again this Sunday to lift Redskins past the Jaguars, sorta. Grossman did just enough to not hurt the Redskins this past Sunday against the Jaguars. In an efficient, yet, effective manner, Grossman systematically moved the Redskins up and down the field and provided just enough Offense to beat the depleted Jaguars. Now lets not forget that the Redskins themselves are depleted. A bit more than the Jaguars. But, the injuries never really seemed to affect the Redskins, but just a few injuries affected the Jaguars and made them look like an average team Sunday against the Redskins. Now with the Redskins improving to 6-9, what’s next?

 

This coming Sunday is the season finale for the Washington Redskins as they play host to the N.Y. Giants. The Giants (9-6) really need to win this game to keep their slim Playoff hopes alive. In their last meeting, that New Jersey wind and the N.Y. Giants whipped up on the Redskins something kind of fierce. It was an embarrassment of sorts. The Giants were playing with their #3 and #4 WR’s and the knew that their only chance of winning was running the ball against the Redskins. And wouldn’t you know it, the Giants ran early and often. In the end the Giants won 31-7. But if you ask me, the Giants have been nothing but mediocre since then. The Giants are a 1-2 over the last 3 games, which includes a 45-17 drubbing at the hands of the Packers this past Sunday. The Giants seemed poised for a Playoff run, but now we are not so sure. In the meantime Washington has a lot their plate as the NFL Scouting Combine, Free Agency and the NFL Draft are all right around the corner.

Well it really looks like Donovan McNabb and Albert Haynesworth will not be returning to the Redskins next season. At this junction, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Shanahan’s are right out the door behind them. McNabb, whom the Redskins gave up a 2010 2nd Round Draft Pick and a 2011 4th Round Draft Pick for, looks like he will be getting away for nothing in return. It seems to the common theme in the past 10 years. Jason Campbell and Jason Taylor come to mind immediately, as it relates to guys the Redskins brought in, did not groom, and let get away and are doing well for the Raiders and Jets respectively. So where do you think McNabb and Haynesworth will land? I think McNabb will be in Arizona or Minnesota, and I think Haynesworth will land in Tennessee, Oakland or Kansas City. What about Clinton Portis? Is Portis coming back? If am the Redskins, I would Franchise tag him and pray that I either get trade offers before Week 6 of next season, or he doesn’t get hurt.  Otherwise, with Draft Picks in the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 6th and 7th Rounds, with multiple picks in the later Rounds.  Can you see the Redskins drafting a QB and RB this April?

As the season winds down, there are a ton of question that need to be answered.  There are holes in the Defense, specifically the fron 7 in the 3-4 Defense at Defensive Line and at one Outside Linebacker spot.  There is going to be a huge void at QB and may set the Redskins back another few years.  If Malcolm Kelly can't go next year, the Redskins will be back in the draft for a big bodied WR.  The Redskins may need another Center, and there may be a hole at Running Back.  It seems like with all of the Offseason moves that the Redskins have made over the past years, they just haven't quite got it right yet.  We have nothing to build on again this Offseason.  I have said it numerous times, anyone can sign big name Free Agents and look like a genius in the 1st, 2nd and even the 3rd Round of the NFL Draft.  But, if you want to impress me, go find another guy like Anthony Armstrong in the Free Agent pool.  Find another stud late in the Draft like Marko Mitchell, whom the Redskins never gave a real shot.  Implement and Offense and Defense that is around for 8-10 years.  We can't keep pissing in the wind and hoping things will go well.  Because again, if we don't get it right, our fans may start sporting the brown paper bag to our games with the words "Fire Dan Snyder" enscribed on it.

The Inaugural Dezzy Awards

In the spirit of the 2009 NFL Regular Season ending on January 3, 2010, I have have come up with my own version of an awards ceremony. These are awards given (not literally) to the player(s) who had outstanding seasons at their respective positions. Without further ado here are the winners for the 2009 Dezzy Awards.

Award For Best QB
This one was tough, but I went with Drew Brees. A year after falling short of breaking the NFL record for most passing yards in a season, he only came back rolled off 13 straight wins. I picked Drew Brees because of what he has to work with at the Wide Receiver position. He has not one person at the Wide Receiver position that is considered a star. This is not my words, this is the general consensus of the media. Brees posted a 109.6 Passer Rating, completed 70.6% of his passes (363-514), passed for 4,388 yards, had 11 Interceptions, and posted 36 Touchdowns (34 Passing, 2 Rushing). All while playing with Devery Henderson, Lance Moore, Marques Colston and Robert Meachem. All four of these guys are good. For some strange reason, the media thinks otherwise. In my book Drew Brees had the best performance of any QB in the NFL given the amount of talent that "they" say he has around him.

Award For Best HB
This one was very easy. Chris Johnson, by far, was the best Running Back in the NFL this year. I was a little upset when Tennessee passed on a local product in University of Tennessee's Wide Receiver Robert Meachem, who now plays for the New Orleans Saints. I wondered, how in the blue hell, drafting a Running Back was going to help Vince Young in the passing game. Fast Forward 2 years. My question was answered and then some. Chris Johnson is probably the fastest player I have ever seen in a football uniform. Not only that, Johnson rushed for over 2,000 (2,006 yards [6th player in NFL history to do so]), 14 Rushing Touchdowns and set the NFL record for most yards from scrimmage (2,503 yards [2,006 yards rushing, and 503 yards receiving]). He also had 16 total Touchdowns (14 Rushing, 2 Receiving). Most players in the league expressed how much fear he struck in their hearts. This is one guy who can score on any play. I am happy that he is recognized for being a good guy as well. You don't hear about him in any trouble. He works hard and his teammates love him. Good job Chris.

Award For Best Fullback
So the Fullback position was almost abolished a few seasons ago. But with guys like Tony Richardson, Le'Rron McClain, Lorenzo Neal, Brad Hoover and Mike Sellers. You could make a case for why you need them. And Leonard Weaver was the next level of Fullback. All Weaver did was duplicate the efforts of Le'Ron McClain in 2008. Unfortunately, the Dezzy Awards were non-existant. If you need a big block to spring your Halfback, call Weaver. If you need a ten yard carry, call on Weaver. If you need a two yard carry, call on Weaver. You need some one to pick up a blitz, call on Weaver. And if you need another receiver out of the backfield, call on Weaver. He did it all. As if Donovan McNabb needed another weapon. Congrats Weaver.

Award For Best WR
There is really no surprise here. The new breed of Wide Receivers are here. Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Calvin Johnson Jr., and Brandon Marshall are what the new Wide Receivers are going to look like. But the guy that embodies all of their skills combined had a great year for a team that finally finished with a winning record (9-7). Andre Johnson had 101 catches, 1,569 receiving yards, and 9 touchdown catches. In my eyes, he has been overlooked time after time for being recognized as one of the best, if not, the best Wide Receiver in the NFL. He is another player in a long line of University of Miami Hurricanes, to just get it done at the NFL level. He is a true freak of nature at 6'3" 225 lbs., strong and fast. Congrats Dre'.

Award For Best TE
I love watching the new breed of Tight Ends in the NFL. Guys like Chris Cooley, Antonio Gates, Dustin Keller, (soon to be known) Cornelius Ingram, L.J. Smith, Todd Heap along with others are just flat out good. These guys cause so many match-up problems that I couldn't imagine how much sleep a Defensive Coordinator gets the night before a game against one of these guys. But my Best TE Award goes to Dallas Clark. Every time I watch him play, I ask myself. Where did the Colts find this guy? Clark had 100 catches, 1106 receiving yards, and 10 touchdown catches. I didn't think I would see 100 catches from a Tight End. Heck I didn't think I'd see 98 catches from a Tight End, but Jason Witten did is 2 years ago. Dallas Clark does play with one of the best QB's in the NFL, but when I watch Clark play he is very good at getting open. He is also good at getting off of the line of scrimmage, is faster than most give him credit for, and in a day and age where players, myself included, rely so much on those new age football gloves, Clark does it barehanded. He should also win the best hands award. LOL.. Please note that I did have two honorable mentions: Vernon Davis and Jason Witten. Two guys who are 1b. and 1c. in my opinion.

Award For the Best Offensive Line
I love awards like this one because people often overlook the most important part of any Offense. It is your Offensive Line. If you don't have a good line, don't expect production from your Quarterback. Just ask Jason Campbell. I have a watched a few games this year, and by far, the Best Offensive Line Award goes to the Indianapolis Colts. I don't think I have seen Peyton Manning touched in the last two season. His uniform is always clean. So to Charlie Johnson, Ryan Lija, Jeff Saturday, Kyle DeVan, and Ryan Diem, great job. This award is let you know that you are very much appreciated for what you bring to the game of football. Your job is thankless and dirty at times, but you show what it means to be true professionals.

Award For the Best Defensive Line
Some may not like it. But the truth of the matter is, the New York Giants had the best Defensive Line in football in 2007. And then the injury to Osi Umenyiora changed everything. Umenyiora has since returned, and then was seeing his playing time disappear. But along the way came four guys who don't play in a big market. They only have one guy who is a media magnet, but they are flat out good and deserve more attention than they are getting. The Best Defensive Line award goes to the Minnesota Vikings. Ray Edwards, Kevin Williams, Pat Williams and Jared Allen are the best in the business. Just ask any team that had the luxury of playing against them. Jared Allen alone can cause headaches but Kevin and Pat Williams are the icing on the cake. It is almost like two Albert Haynesworth-type players on one line. Ray Edwards benefits from being around these other three guys. He may not be a top tier Defensive End, but with the other three guys to his right, does he need to be?

Award For the Best Linebackers
I am a bit biased, because everyone knows that I am a Washington Redskins-Pittsburgh Steelers fan. But one thing I am is fair. And in truth, there is only one team that replaces Linebackers like undergarments. And that is the Pittsburgh Steelers. That group of Linebackers is the absolute best I have ever seen. The Baltimore Ravens are very, very close. But when Bart Scott got away, they lost a little bit. Pittsburgh, is what I consider "Linebacker U." Going back to the days with Greg Lloyd, Kevin Greene, and for one year, Greg Little, and even as recent as Larry Foote and Joey Porter, the Steelers ALWAYS has a group of Linebackers who are considered the best on some level. So the award for Best Linebackers goes to Pittsburgh. Congrats to LaMarr Woodley, James Harrison, James Farrior and Lawrence Timmons. I have not seen a group of Linebackers that dominant in a very long time (New York Giants, 1985-1992 and Chicago Bears 1985).

Award For Best CB
I love this section. I love watching Defensive Backs. This is the area in which I am most interested. I've watched a lot of football. No secret that I love the younger players like Chris Houston, Cortland Finnegan, Antonio Cromartie, Domonique Rodgers-Cromartie, Darrelle Revis, Michael Jenkins and Malcolm Jenkins, along with others. But the Best Cornerback award goes to one of the older guys. Charles Woodson, in my opinion, had the best season of his 12 year career. Recording 74 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 forced fumbles 9 interceptions, and 3 Defensive Touchdowns, he seemed to always be on the Green Bay Packers' highlight films. I watched the guy at Michigan. We knew he was a talent. And usually Cornerbacks start to slow down near 30. But here Woodson is 33 years old and playing better than some of the younger guys. He certainly makes me feel good. Seeing as though 33 is around the corner for me. Congrats Woody.

Award For Best Safety
Again, everyone knows that I love Defensive Backs. If I could play any position in football, it would be the Safety position. I love rangy, ballhawks who, on occasion does not mind coming up and blasting a ball carrier. My pick for Best Safety may surprise you. It again is one of the older guys. Darren Sharper wins this award in a very close race. The young fella, Jarius Byrd for Buffalo was my favorite to win, until I watched Darren Sharper play. Sharper is one of the best Safety's in the NFL. Again, most Safety's start to slow a bit in their 30's. Sharper looks like he has actually gotten better at age 34. Greg Williams does a good job of getting the best out of his players, but, I watched Sharper do well for the Packers, Vikings and now the Saints. I think the player has a lot to do with that. Recording 75 tackles, 0.5 sack and 9 interceptions, Sharper had a season that would rival any Cornerback. Congrats "Pops."

Award For Most Improved Player
I am happy to give this one away. I love watching players improve. I also enjoy watching players work their tails off to get an opportunity. It is players like these that immediately earn my respect. I would have easily said Devin Thomas for the Washington Redskins, or Santonio Holmes for Pittsburgh, or Calvin Johnson for Detroit, or Ray Rice for the Ravens. But the award for Most Improved Player goes to Miles Austin. No shock there huh? Miles was only signed by the Cowboys to play Special Teams. And even on Special Teams, Austin made an impact returning a kickoff for a touchdown his rookie season. He got his opportunity when Terrell Owens got hurt, and then again when Roy Williams got hurt. This past season I watched Miles grow up in front of my eyes, recording 81 catches, 1320 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. From tiny Monmouth in New Jersey, to Joe DeFranco's garage gym in Wyckoff, NJ, to the NFL Scouting Combine and then to the Dallas Cowboys training camp via Free Agency, Miles worked his way into the spotlight. If you want to talk about production, take a Free Agent Wide Receiver, give him an opportunity to make your team, and watch him earn your #1 Wide Receiver spot. Do you think that you made a good investment? Congrats to you Miles. You have made a lot of people proud.

Award For Comeback Player Of The Year
I really wish that I could handed a real award to this next player. We watched him fall. He wasn't used to losing on any level. He was used to being love by all. But in the NFL, none of that matters. You have to produce now. I wasn't happy about him being criticized, but he recovered well this season winning 6 straight games this season and leading an 0-6 team back into playoff contention. Although his team missed the playoffs by one game, he finished with an 8-2 record and won back not only his starting job, but the respect of a lot of people. My Comeback Player of The Year Award goes to Vince Young. No need in going overboard explaining what he did. Go look at the Tennessee Titans' first 6 games, and then the last 10 games. You do the math. Good job VY.

The Diamonds In The Rough Award
I love watching these guys play. One has already established himself as a Prime Time player. The others are getting started. My Diamonds in the Rough Awards go to Patrick Willis of the San Francisco 49ers, Brian Cushing of the Houston Texans, Mike Jenkins of the Dallas Cowboys, Brian Orakpo of the Washington Redskins, Calvin Johnson Jr. of the Detroit Lions, and Jarius Byrd of the Buffalo Bills. The only guy on this list that is established is Patrick Willis, ranking the in the top 3 for the past 3 years in tackles. The others haven't even scratched the surface as to how good they can be, and they are pretty good already.

Award For NFL MVP
Well this is the award for which we have all been waiting. The NFL MVP award is usually given to the player who has performed head and shoulders above the rest of the league. This player has influenced their team to the point that some may consider him irreplaceable. But in a surprise twist. I have chosen two players, and they both are well deserving. My NFL MVP Award goes to Brett Favre and Peyton Manning. It should be stated, that I am not a fan of either of these guys. I think the media tries to shove them down our throats and builds them up as the Great White Hope. Not to say that they are not good, I just think that the media makes them out to be Gods. The love affair with these two are sickening. But I call it like I see it, and these two had outstanding seasons.

Brett Favre worked the West Coast Offense, with the Minnesota Vikings, to perfection. Sidney Rice was the beneficiary of some good ol' Southern love. And when Brett likes a Receiver, you will know it. When Brett is in a bind, that guy gets the ball a lot. Rice had a career year and it was because Brett made up in his mind, Sidney Rice is his guy. Favre posted a 107.2 Passer Rating (Career High), 68.4% completion percentage (Career High) (363 completions - 531 attempts), 4,202 yards, 7 Interceptions (Career Low) and 33 Touchdowns. And the Vikings finished 12-4 and the #2 seed in the NFC Playoffs. Good job Brett.

Peyton Manning also had a great year. Starting 14-0 (finished 14-2), and finding ways to win games, Manning had a year that I actually had to give him credit for. One of his star players, Anthony Gonzalez, went down with a knee injury, and was replaced by a standout Division 3 college player in Pierre Garcon. And all Peyton did was post a 99.9 Passer Rating, 68.8% completion percentage (393-571), 4,500 passing yards, and 33 touchdowns. I know this sounds like a typical year for Manning, but his team was staring down a perfect season all the way up until Week 16. And that counts for a lot. Good job Peyton.

Hopefully next year we will have a new crop of players winning awards. But for now, I can't wait until the NFL Playoffs start. Enjoy the Postseason folks.

The Safety

I have been a Redskins fan for over 25 years. I have watched a lot of games and I have liked a lot of players. I can remember wanting to be Joe Washington, or Charlie Brown. I can even remember thinking I was going to be the next Art Monk, Darrell Green, or Gary Clark. But, when I went to college in the mid 1990’s, especially after Art Monk left, I lost a bit of interested in the Redskins. I loved football and I loved the home team, but past Michael Westbrook, there was no player on the Redskins that could catch and hold my attention. And that all changed in the Spring of 2004, when one Sean Michael Maurice Taylor of the University of Miami was drafted #5 overall. I had not seen him play in college, but just watching his highlights at the NFL Draft that year caught my attention enough for me to look forward to the 2004 NFL Season.

The “experts” had Sean Taylor as possibly the best player in the draft. Keep in mind, that same year, players like Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning and even Phillip Rivers were available in that draft. This just further illustrates the kind of talent Sean Taylor possessed. Taylor’s 2003 season in college was a very decorated one in which he garnered All-American honors, Big East Conference Defensive Player of The Year, and was a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. At the NFL Combine, Taylor was clocked running a 4.51 40 Yard Dash, which is good for a Defensive Back, especially a Safety. He also weighed an astounding 231 lbs., which is almost the size of a Linebacker. But the most impressive thing about him was his unheared of Vertical leaping ability (39”) and the range he had in coverage. So needless to say, I was a bit upset that I never saw him play college ball, but I got to see enough of him in pro’s, and he did not disappoint.

One of the things that I liked about Sean Taylor, was his team approach. I know he never really participated in voluntary workouts (if it is voluntary, there should not be a big stink about him not participating), but when he did show, I never once heard or saw him take any plays off. His teammates loved him and more importantly, the Redskins fans adored him. He was never one to do things to thrust himself into the spotlight. He always let his play do his talking for him. From his bone crushing hits, to his timely interceptions, to his willingness to lay a lick on a defender from the other team on Special Teams, this guy showed people how you should approach the game of football. You would be hard pressed to find too many Redskins fans that do not miss Sean Taylor. We all knew that he was going to bring it every game, every play, every year.

I knew he was a special talent when he would take time out to talk to children. He was so gentle and compassionate when it came to kids. It surprised me that someone so ferocious could have such a soft spot for the little people. But, of all the things that I have seen him do, one particular play of his stands out to me the most. In a game in 2007 against the Detroit Lions, the Redskins were thoroughly dominating. There was a 4th down in which the Lions were punting the ball. James Thrash was back to return. As Thrash caught the punt and started to make his way up the field, he was doing his best to avoid defenders. Thrash catches the sidelines and has a defender from the Lions in hot pursuit of him. In a split second, I saw the defender from the Lions disappear as I heard a loud pop. It happened so fast that I had to wait for the replay to be shown so I could see who had just delivered this timely, but vicious block. When the replay was shown, it was not that much of a surprise that Sean Taylor was the man. And when the cameras caught him on the sidelines, a guy that never smiles during a game had a smile on his face from ear to ear. He was just as happy to block on Special Teams as he was to run down and smash a Running Back or Wide Receiver on Offense, or to intercept a pass. Trust me, this guy could have play numerous positions on the football field, but he chose Safety. This was the icing on the cake for me.

Sean Taylor, could have played Wide Receiver, Running Back (which he did in High School), Tight End, Cornerback, or Linebacker (trust me at 230 lbs. he wasn’t too far off). But he chose to play Safety, Free Safety at that. If you don’t know there is a fair amount of intelligence that a player needs to posses to play Free Safety. You have to have a feel for the game and anticipate, before the ball is snapped, what the other team is going to do. I know the fashionable thing to say is he has good instincts, or he is such a good athlete with natural ability, but let’s be honest people. At his position you have to be smart. This is an attribute that is not mentioned when people discuss Sean Taylor and it is bit disturbing, but I’ll save that for another post. It says a lot to me for a guy with that kind of ability chose to do an unselfish thing and play a position that doesn’t necessarily attract a lot of attention for the benefit of the team. This is the real reason why I liked Taylor.

I thought I was alone in my grief and sorrow to receive the news that Sean Taylor had passed away. But, as I made my way around Washington, D.C. I saw t-shirts, hats, jerseys, even cars, sporting Sean Taylor paraphernalia. At the next home game at FedEx Field, there was an inordinate amount of #21 jerseys, and hand towels, pictures and signs honoring the life of Sean Taylor. But nothing stuck out more to me than a train ride home one day on the Red Line here in D.C. in between Brookland and Fort Totten train stations. A concrete wall displayed how deep our cities grief went. Someone took the time to spray paint Sean Taylor’s name on the wall. To me this is a sign of respect. Sean Taylor had respect in the ‘hood. Everyone old enough to watch football loved him, and we still miss him. I don’t ever think we will see another player like him in a long time. I think it’s only fitting that he was inducted into the Ring of Honor at FedEx Field, because we all know, he would have been taking a trip to Canton, OH had he had the chance to play out his career. But as much as I, the fans, his family and his teammates miss him, the real loser in this situation was his precious little girl, who will never know her daddy. This to me is the real tragedy. And for all of us, he is irreplaceable.

R.I.P. Sean!!! God made you for us, but he needed you for much bigger things.