The Redskins Blog

Santana Moss Is 'Just Thrilled' About His New Coaches

“When I was at home and I heard about the changes and everything that was coming to the team I was excited. Me and [Texans wide receiver] Andre Johnson, we’re good friends. We rolled together in college and he was my roommate on the road for the games, and just to see his success last year, and the ways they used him. The first thing he told me when we was getting his coach was, ‘Man, I remember back in ’05 when he was my receivers coach. We used to talk about you all the time, and some of the things they were doing with you over there. So I look forward to him coming over there and doing the same thing with you.’

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Brian Orakpo Unveils His Draft Board

Brian Orakpo addressed the media at Redskins Park today, fielding questions about the absent Albert Haynesworth (“He handled his situation and he’ll be back soon”); new defensive coordinator Jim Haslett (“You can relate to him. He played this game”); and who he models his game after (“I look at everybody”).

He also delved a bit into such now-familiar 2010 Redskins offseason topics as A) How enthusiastic he is about the level of competition around Redskins Park.

“I love competition,” he said. “Lot of guys here love competition. You don’t ever wanna be in the situation where, hey, my job’s secure so I’m gonna stop working. I hope that the next guy behind me is gonna be comin’ in, try to take my spot, it makes me work better. Try to take Haynesworth’s spot, it makes him work better. Andre, Fletcher, everybody. Nobody’s spot is secure until we start the season, and that’s what’s gonna make us better. We won four games so it’s subject to change.”

And offseason topic B) Are the Redskins transitioning to a 3-4 defense?

“I didn’t get the word we [were going] 3-4 yet,” he said. “Tell you the truth, I don’t know, man. We’ll see. But whatever scheme we’re in, I know the coach is doin’ a great job getting some stuff set up for all of us to make plays. The number one thing [is], we gotta make turnovers. We were last in the league, and we gotta create turnovers and get the ball back to our offense. I’d be excited either way. Either/or, it doesn’t matter. Long as I move forward and rush the passer, it don’t matter. 4-3, 3-4, just get me rushing and I’m good.”

But perhaps the most entertaining part of Orakpo’s appearance was when it turned into an impromptu session of Brian Orakpo Previews The 2010 NFL Draft. It started with a question about Russell Okung, the highly-rated offensive tackle out of Oklahoma State who battled Orakpo when he was rushing the passer at Texas. From there, it seemed like everyone wanted Orakpo’s opinion on a different player, leading him to laugh, “Y’all gonna ask me everybody, huh? What about Coach [Mack] Brown?”

Still, without further ado, here are Brian Orakpo’s takes on a few of the top prospects in this year’s NFL Draft. Read more »

FedExField Goes HD, Part 2: The Gutted Control Room

Upgrading the FedExField gameday experience to HD isn’t like upgrading your living room set. You can’t just junk the old set, plug the new one in, and enjoy your sitcoms in beautiful hi-def.

The equipment used to produce the games needs to be upgraded, people need to be trained, and the control room needs a full overhaul. As of yesterday, here’s what the control room — the nerve center for the whole operation of presenting the game on gameday — looks like.

Okay, it doesn’t look that impressive. I can see that. It’s a construction bin and some tools and not a whole lot else. It’s hard to imagine that it’s an upgrade over anything. Then again, here’s what used to sit in roughly that spot: Read more »