The Redskins Blog

Players Allowed To Tweet From Pro Bowl

via. nflrush.com

Tired of watching a three-hour football exhibition without knowing exactly what the participating NFL players were thinking?  Upset that the NFL banned players from tweeting, starting 90 minutes before kickoff and ending 45 minutes after the final whistle?

Well, this tweet is for you, sports fans.

The NFL’s public relations staff confirmed a story originally broken by CNBC’s sports marketing guru, Darren Rovel (@darrenrovel), via Twitter of all things.  Here’s the scoop: Read more »

Shanahan Articulates His Scout Strategy

via NFL Network

Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan sat down with the NFL Network crew at the Senior Bowl earlier this week and discussed the assessment process that takes place between now and the end of April.

Investing a draft pick, player salary, coaching time and organizational resources into a player is no small commitment, and Shanahan’s staff is meticulously collecting as much information as possible.  After a week-long look at the best draft-eligible seniors, these are the criteria behind Shanahan’s drafting decisions:

1. Coach the players–how do they play?
2. See their work ethic and preparation–can they adjust?
3. Hour-long meetings everyday–how do they learn?
4. Interview coaches, watch film, watch workouts–what kind of a person are they?
5. Take your best-educated pick.

At the end of the day, hopefully it will work out (like Ryan Kerrigan)–but it might not: Read more »

Fletcher’s Pro Bowl Gloves, Ninja Assassin

AP Image

In the grand spectrum of football games, the annual NFL Pro Bowl is little more than an exhibition for bragging rights.  But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a thoroughly entertaining exhibition.

Before yesterday’s televised NFC squad practice, Redskins linebacker London Fletcher tweeted out his Burgundy and Gold-themed practice gloves, asking Twitter users: “Like or dislike?”

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But the fun was just beginning for the Redskins Iron Man, as he was the first player interviewed on the NFL Network’s coverage of the practice.  His player interviewer?  Houston Texans defensive end Antonio Smith, disguised as a ninja assassin.

Hilarity ensued (via NFL Network): Read more »

Alexander Named To NFL’s ‘All-Joe Team’

AP Image

In the 4C section of today’s USA TODAY, Redskins linebacker Lorenzo Alexander was named to the “20th Annual All-Joe Team.”

This caps off a big year for the One Man Gang, in which he:

• Was named the 2010 Redskins’ Special Teams Player of the Year
• Was named 2011 Special Teams Captain
• Led the Redskins this season with 21 special teams tackles
• Was nominated as the Redskins’ Walter Payton Man of the Year
• Was given the Media Good Guy Award.

But this latest honor may be the most fitting of all.  USA TODAY has honored the unsung Joes of the NFL since 1992. Only players who have never been named to the Pro Bowl during their careers are eligible.

Now he can add an award that highlights the hard-working gridiron grunts that don’t get nearly the accolades that they so richly deserve.  While it may sound like a consolation prize, in the realm of blue-collar workers, it’s a badge of honor.

This was his succinct, but accurate bio in the article: Read more »

Hilliard Teaching, Learning On The Job

In his first address to the media since joining the club, Redskins wide receivers coach Ike Hilliard admitted that he isn’t necessarily a finished product on the sidelines.

Being only three years removed from his playing days might make this statement obvious, but it’s also unusual to hear in a league dominated by ego over insecurity.

What attracted him to the Redskins job is the fact that he’ll have a chance to work in a situation where he’ll be able to learn on the job, while sharing his expertise.  Check out the interview below: Read more »

Nationals’ Gonzalez: ‘Hail To The Redskins’

via Nationals.com

For whatever reason, it’s not terribly often that there is legitimate crossover in Washington area sports.  Sure, there’s the occasional Redskins player that throws out the first pitch, or the Capitals owner in the stands at a Redskins game, but there isn’t a long-standing relationship.

Washington’s newest sports figure seems likely to change that, however, as newly acquired Nationals pitcher Gio Gonzalez has gone all in as a Washingtonian.

The Miami, Fla. native–who spent his first four seasons in Oakland, Calif.–is now a Burgundy and Gold-blooded football fan.  He announced as much on his introductory interview with “The Sports Reporters,” Steve Czaban and Andy Pollin, on ESPN 980.

Have a listen: Read more »

Kerrigan Talks Senior Bowl, Off The Field

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Earlier this week, I caught up with linebacker Ryan Kerrigan in-between classes, and he shared a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on off the field at the Senior Bowl.

After a superb senior campaign at Purdue, Ryan Kerrigan punched his ticket to the first postseason action he’d had in years.

“I just remember that it was kind of an eye-opener because you saw all of how the NFL Draft process works,” he recalled.  ”You’ll be walking through the hotel lobby and coaches will just grab you at any time and ask you questions for a little while, and try to get to know you.

After his Boilermakers failed to finish with a winning season in each of his final three years, Kerrigan was a bit of an unknown to the national audience.  He had put up big numbers in college, but had rarely played on a big stage, which left coaching staffs curious.

“You really saw how every team is really just digging for information and really trying to find things out about you, and they’ll go to any lengths to find it.  It’s really just interesting from that regard, but it really gives you some perspective.”

This game and week of practice was a big stage for a player like Kerrigan, who had risen near the top of many draft boards.  Playing against elite peer competition, Kerriganse seized his opportunity with a strong performance throughout the week.

In addition to meeting with Redskins coaching staff while he was down there, Kerrigan also developed a bond with the Cincinnati Bengals’ coaching staff, which guided his North Team. Read more »

Shanahan’s Mark Rypien Senior Bowl Story

via. washingtonsportshof.com

After yesterday’s South Team practice at the Senior Bowl, Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan sat down with Redskins Nation’s Larry Michael to discuss, among other things, a distant memory with Redskins great Mark Rypien.

It all began with a reminiscing of the last time Shanahan served on a Senior Bowl coaching staff in 1986, as an offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos.  In that year’s draft class, there was a senior quarterback out of Washington State University by the name of Mark Rypien.

Rypien was a mid-level prospect with a strong arm and one solid senior season under his belt, but lacked the résumé for an invitation to the Senior Bowl.

That is, until the three quarterbacks in front of him on the North Team went down with injury, including Ken Norseth who came out of the bowl game needing 40 stitches for his mouth.

Good grief, that’s major surgery.

The Redskins-related point here, is that Rypien went from a non-invite to the star of the show.  According to an AP story that ran in LA Times, Rypien went 13-for-17 for 168 yards and a touchdown, en route to a North Team victory.   Read more »

Memories From Super Bowl XXVI Champs

[Editor's Note: In honor of the 20th anniversary of the Redskins' victory over the Bills in Super Bowl XXVI, I wanted to put together something that captured the emotion of the season, the title, and the players involved.  With the help of Jim Gehman and his book, Then Gibbs Said to Riggins: The Best Washington Redskins Stories Ever Told, we look back on the magical 1991-1992 Redskins Super Bowl victory.  For much more, I encourage you to buy the book, here.]

The stage was set for the biggest game of the year, featuring a matchup between the Washington Redskins and Buffalo Bills.  For the Redskins, it was their third trip in a decade, and their first appearance following a full regulation season without work stoppages.  For the Jim Kelly Bills, it was their second of what would be four consecutive trips to the Super Bowl (each in defeat).

The two teams were similar in stature, both boasting a Top-4 offense, with the Bills ranked No. 1 overall.  The Redskins had finished the season with a red-hot 14-2 record, balanced by their No. 3 ranked defense in the NFL.

The two teams would meet in the Metrodome in frozen Minneapolis, Minn., only the second time in Super Bowl history that the game was held north of the Mason Dixon Line.  A deep freeze put fan travel in jeopardy, but according to rookie runnning back Ricky Ervins, helped to keep the Redskins focused on the task at hand (via Gehman):

“We never got a chance to experience the whole week. We had it inMinnesota, and there was nothing but snow there,” laughed Ervins. “When you go to Super Bowls now when they have them inMiamiorPasadena, the whole week is a festivity of things going on. We never had that NFL experience.

“Once you get to the game and all the hoopla that’s going on, the singers and the balloons inside the building, it hit me. That year, we were constantly winning, so I was used to winning. So when we playedBuffalo, it was just another game. But once the game was over with and you see [video] tapes that they make up, that’s when it hits you. Wow! I actually played in that game.”

The first man to put points on the board that evening was Redskins kicker Chip Lohmiller.  Despite the social deep freeze of holding a Super Bowl in the Twin Cities, this was a homecoming party for the kicker, who had played at the Metrodrome his entire life (via Jim Gehman): Read more »

Redskins Park Tribute To Army-Navy Game

This week, the Redskins added this commemorative Army-Navy football to the display case in the lobby of Redskins Park.

For fans of amateur athletics, this Dec. 10th game was an absolute gem, befitting the game’s first trip to the Nation’s Capital.  Both teams resorted to a ground-n-pound offense that’s become synonymous with academy play, and the game came down to the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

With 80,789 people at FedExField to see the Nation’s Greatest Rivalry, it was the rivalry’s largest attendance in nearly three decades, since the game went west to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. in 1983.

All in all, it was a great game, and a big win for the Navy Midshipmen.  Now, it will also be remembered forever, here at Redskins Park.

Whether you “Hoo-rah!” “Hoo-yah!” or “Oo-rah!” (or some variation thereof), congratulations and thank you for your service.