The Redskins Blog

Spirit Friday At Redskins Park

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As the last business day before Sunday’s home game against the Eagles, Redskins Park is shrouded in Burgundy and Gold today, with a little bit of Think Pink flair.

As always, the staff of Redskins Park gathered on the balcony to welcome players in from practice:

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Brian Orakpo Is A Man Of His Word

For those of you that don’t get to watch ESPN at work, Redskins outside linebacker Brian Orakpo appeared as a guess on ESPN’s “First Take” on September 22nd.  On the program, they discussed the upcoming matchup between Orakpo’s alma mater Texas and Oklahoma, with analyst Skip Bayless taking the Sooners in a landslide.

Orakpo took exception to the prediction, and laid down a friendly wager with Bayless.

Now, Orakpo may be good at on the gridiron, but I wouldn’t take him to Vegas with you.

After a 55-17 thumping of his Longhorns last Saturday, it was time for Orakpo to pay his dues:

Clearly, Orakpo is a really good sport, but it wasn’t necessarily the ESPN crew that gave him the hardest time.  Orakpo happens to be joined on the Redskins by three former Sooners: Trent Williams, Chris Chester, and Jammal Brown.

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Always Keep An Eye On Kerrigan

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With the level of production that rookie linebacker Ryan Kerrigan has had this season, it’s hard to remember sometimes that he’s only preparing for his fifth NFL game.

Once again, Scouts Inc.’s Matt Williamson has included Kerrigan in his ESPN.com “Rookie Watch.”  After starting the season at No. 9, Kerrigan has climbed to No. 4 on his list of top rookies to watch out for: Read more »

Dialing Up Confusion On Defense

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After each game, coaches have an opportunity to review plays with the league offices, in order to get an explanation for a call.  Since the league began enforcing stricter interpretations of player safety rules, this process has become critical for teams and players to learn the proper way to hit.

“I don’t know what it is, I really don’t. I don’t know what’s legal and what’s not legal,” admitted Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett.  ”I tell our guys to take your shot and try to keep your head up and do it right. Wrap your arms and don’t drive them to the ground. I don’t know what else you can say.”

Haslett had an interesting theory for cutting down on situations where defenders get flagged: make offenses more responsible.

“To me, I’d fine the quarterback for a bad throw,” he offered.  ”Half the time on those crossing routes, the corners get called for contact when you hit.  It’s all subjective.”

With all of that being said, Haslett doesn’t begrudge the logic behind player safety, and wants his own players to be safe.  But that doesn’t make it any less frustrating to coach proper technique.

“Obviously, the league has done a great job in trying to help players’ safety,” he said.  ”I just tell the guys to keep your head up, wrap your arms around and run through them. I don’t know what else you can say to be honest with you.”

Check out his full press conference below: Read more »

When Brent Celek Prank-Traded Cooley

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Back in early June, a great podcast interview with the NFL’s Rich Eisen discussed Chris Cooley’s love for prank calls.

But any time a cunning prankster reveals his secrets, he opens himself up to copy-cats and knock-offs.  When Cooley revisited Eisen’s podcast yesterday, he recanted how during this year’s training camp, Eagles tight end Brent Celek did just that.

According to Cooley, the conversation went something like this:

(Celek): “This is the general manager for the New York Giants, Jerry Reese.  Have you talked to your people?  Has your agent called you?”

Cooley: “No.”

(Celek): “Uhh…well I don’t want to be the one to tell you this, I guess, but we’re executing a trade for you within the hour.”

Cooley: ”…No–what?”

(Celek): “Well, we’ve always admired the way you’ve played.  We consider you one of the best tight ends in the league, the best in the division.”

From there, Cooley told Eisen that he hung up the phone and thought, ”Man, this can’t be real!”  From there, he said that he began Google-ing Reese, and became suspicious when the voice on the phone didn’t seem to match what Reese looks like.  This sent Cooley into sleuth mode:

So I downloaded Jerry Reese, and I looked at the number, and it wasn’t to the Giants facility, and I figured he would’ve been at the Giants facility.  About two minutes goes by, and I get a call from a Pittsburgh reporter named Ed Bouchette.  And I know he is the real deal, but this was not the real Ed Bouchette, this is someone else.

This prank was getting really elaborate at that point.  Here’s their conversation, according to Cooley:

Fake Ed Bouchette: ”Chris, I’ve heard rumors of a trade.  There’s a lot of rumblings going on, and I would like to be the first one to break this.”

Cooley: “I’m thinking, this has gotta be fake, so I said, “Who is this?  Is this Celek?  Is this Mike Silver? Who is this?”

As it turns out, Yahoo! Sports’ Mike Silver was actually partially involved with the prank, so it was a good guess.  To top it all off, Celek called as himself to check on the Cooley’s reaction:

Celek: ”Why are you going to the Giants?  You should go to the Dream Team!”

Cooley: (laughing) “You’re such a jerk, I hate you so much.”

Cooley claims after the fact that he was only fooled for about 10 seconds, but it should give him a little fun motivation as he prepares to take on the Eagles this Sunday.

Hail! Discovers ‘Landry-Vision’

Redskins safety LaRon Landry is a meat and potatoes kind of guy.  Literally.

Pump some weight…I'm major work….meat/potatoe time….yyyyeeeerrrr!!!—
Laron Landry (@MrLandry30) August 29, 2011

Crucial strength wkout/a crucial pool wkout-im in the matrix time running short doing whatever I takes #meat/potatoes…yyyeeerrrr!!!—
Laron Landry (@MrLandry30) September 01, 2011

Meat/potatoes!!! yfrog.com/h3ewqujdj—
Laron Landry (@MrLandry30) August 26, 2011

With that in mind, this week’s edition of Ben Ceccarelli’s Hail! comic takes a look inside Landry’s mind as he prepares for this Sunday’s game against the Eagles: Read more »