The Redskins Blog

Today In Atogwe

O.J. Atogwe has been a member of the Redskins for something like 17 hours, and I’ve already written about his roomful of comic books and his decision not to even ask for the number 21 jersey. You might think that would be enough for a guy who is still months away from his first snap as a Redskin … but you would be wrong. I’m used to posting lots of stuff about free agent signings around this time of year and this is as close as I can get for the moment. Bear with me.

Anyhow, there’s been a lot of reaction to the signing, most of it positive. Here’s Rich Campbell at the Free Lance-Star, for example:

This appears to be the right kind of free-agent acquisition, if you catch my drift. As coach Mike Shanahan said a week ago: “When you do go into free agency, you’ve got to make sure you’ve got the right type of guy.” Well, Atogwe checks out in the football, character and chemistry departments.

And here’s Frank Tadych at NFL.com:

With holes to fill all over the roster, the bottom line is the Redskins got better with the signing of free agent free safety O.J. Atogwe on Thursday.

But the most interesting — again — is former Redskins safety Matt Bowen, writing for National Football Post. Read more »

Hail! Confronts Some Offseason Anxiety

Every attempt I’ve made at writing an intro paragraph has spoiled the final-panel reveal of this week’s Hail! comic strip, so I’ll just hush up and let the work of writer/artist Ben Ceccarelli speak for itself. As always, click this first panel or the Read More link to see the rest.
Read more »

O.J. Atogwe Settles The First Question About His Jersey Number

Newly signed Redskins safety O.J. Atogwe wore jersey number 21 in St. Louis, his only previous stop in the NFL. In college at Stanford? 21. Even his Twitter handle, OJRams21, contained his number. So his signing prompted people to ask the question: was it time to consider giving the late Sean Taylor’s jersey number to another player?

Based on the responses to Cindy Boren’s blog post in that link and on the emails I’ve received, response is mixed but generally trends toward No, 21 is Taylor’s now.

As it turns out, though, it’s not even time to raise the question; Atogwe settled the issue himself via Twitter — where he now posts as BlessedSkins, with no number included. Here’s his first three tweets after the signing was announced.

Yup, its official. Taking it to the top, by the grace of God. Washington here we come…—
Oshiomogho Atogwe (@blessedskins) March 04, 2011

first order of business, What number should we wear?—
Oshiomogho Atogwe (@blessedskins) March 04, 2011

With all due respect, I will not be rocking nor even asking to rock 21…—
Oshiomogho Atogwe (@blessedskins) March 04, 2011

So that’s that.

Eventually, Atogwe will have to earn his accolades on the field. That’s obvious. But looking at the (largely) positive initial response to his signing and factoring in his deft, straightforward handling of this potentially dramatic issue, I’d say he’s off to a tremendous start in D.C. Read more »