In yesterday's links post, I wrote briefly about an Associated Press article that put forth the idea that not tackling in practice was leading to shoddy tackling in games. Here's a quick excerpt to give you the flavor of the thing, but it's really worth reading:

Sure, [not tackling in practice] keeps everybody healthy, but some Sundays can look pretty ragged. Many players get a chance to tackle at full speed only during exhibition games. It shows once the regular season begins.

"It shows a whole bunch," Redskins safeties coach Steve Jackson said. "That's one of the fundamental skills. A lot of people don't tackle now because of the salary cap. You lose a guy because of a tackling drill, you're the dumbest guy on the planet."

But one thing I noticed as I read it through is that most of the quotes come from people who definitely aren't missing tackles on Sundays: coaches. Since missed tackles have been a problem for the Redskins defense at points this year, I thought it would be worth asking some of those guys for their thoughts on this article's premise.

When I wrote about new Redskins punter Sam Paulescu yesterday, I mentioned just how lively the position has been over the last two years, but I don't think I gave the basic numbers: Paulescu, assuming he punts the ball on Sunday, will be the fourth guy to that for the Redskins this season, and the sixth in the last two. I also recapped much of the bloggable zaniness of the last five guys who punted the ball, and speculated that we'd find out more about Paulescu's quirks today.

In a brief conversation today, though, Paulescu seems largely free of obvious quirks. Where Glenn Pakulak talked about the nomadic lifestyle of the journeyman punter and his side gig as a bartender, Paulescu sounded pretty darn goal-oriented when I asked what he'd been doing during the season.

It certainly feels like there's been a lot of DeAngelo Hall content this week. I'm not going to count posts to see if that's true, but if it is, it's more by accident than by design, and there are two contributing factors: first, because he's going back to face his old team -- a team he left somewhat acrimoniously -- for the first time as a member of the Redskins. That's pretty much always going to turn into a story. And second, because Hall is consistently willing to speak with unusual frankness about the realities of NFL life.

Thursday, both of those factors kind of came together as Hall spoke with unusual frankness about the reality of leaving a team under somewhat acrimonious circumstances.

During his daily media chat session, head coach Jim Zorn was asked his opinion on Greg Blache's impassioned defense of Daniel Snyder. You might have thought -- given all the reports that swirled around Sherm Lewis taking over play-calling duties -- that this might've been a tense moment, but that wasn't how it played out at all.

Zorn didn't hesitate before agreeing with Blache and offering up his own defense of the owner -- and taking responsibility for a big chunk of the problem.

"Dan Snyder is a guy that absolutely cares about other people. He does not have that kind of [dark heart] attitude," Zorn said.

Since I started working here, it feels like there's been more player movement at punter than at any other position. And somehow it always brings the wackiness. From the early days of "Durant Brooks is a weapon" last season through Ryan Plackemeier -- dubbed "Muffintop" by the Mr. I gang -- to Hunter "Greatest Holder and Shoe Model and William the Bruce Impersonator and Christian Rocker of All Time" Smith and his former-bartender substitute, it's been a pretty lively bunch. And that doesn't even account for Shaun Suisham's brief, heroic turn at the position.

Well, the shuffling continued today, as Smith aggravated his groin injury and the team worked out (and plans to sign) Sam Paulescu to punt this week. Paulescu's immediate claims to fame are leveling Tampa Bay's Clifton Smith (in the video above) and helping to determine the height of the videoboard in the new Dallas stadium.

I'm sure we'll find out other fascinating specifics when the guy officially signs on, likely tomorrow. Something to look forward to.

Other practice notes....

Defensive coordinator Greg Blache hasn't been talking to the media lately, not because of a boycott but for personal reasons that were approved by the league. Today, that changed.

I figured I had written everything I was going to write about John Riggins' screed from last night in my last post. But Blache wasn't satisfied with quietly mumbling his frustration with Riggins. He asked the Redskins PR staff to gather the media, and unleashed the following comments.

"Hey, guys. I just wanted to come in here today real quick. This morning when I came in I turned my computer on, and I was looking at ProFootballTalk and I saw a comment that John Riggins had made about Mr. Snyder, and it really bothered me the more I sat there at my desk. Because there's been a lot of criticism of him over the last few weeks, and this is a man I've known for six years -- since I've been here.

"And in the six years I've never seen John Riggins here. I've met him once at the Beach Blitz down in Virginia Beach; never seen him down in the building. So to hear such a vicious criticism of somebody I consider not just my employer but a good friend ... bothered me.

"As much as I hadn't been talking to the media, I felt like this was something I needed to do. Somebody needed to stand up and set this record straight, because this person ... the comment that was made was "dark heart"? That's totally, totally untrue. And the problem is the fans don't get to know Mr. Snyder like we do, and so they get an impression of things that are written and things people say."

But wait, there's more:

None of these links have anything to DO with Guy Fawkes day, but still.


One of the things that's the most frustrating about watching -- and trying to write about -- Redskins practice is that the team, like so many other NFL teams, doesn't actually tackle. It makes it incredibly hard to judge how successful a play actually is, and how good defensive coverage actually is. A guy may get there every time in the game just like he does in practice ... but in the game, you have to actually finish the play, and THAT doesn't always happen.

Joseph White of the Associated Press thinks there might be a correlation there. (On the Redskins side of things, Chris Chase at Shutdown Corner seems to think this applies to DeAngelo Hall.) It's certainly an interesting argument.

More links....

For obvious reasons, there were a lot of quotes coming out of the Redskins locker room today that dealt with owner Daniel Snyder's statement yesterday that he feels disappointed and embarrassed with the first half of the season. That was not a surprise.

Santana Moss discusses the owner feeling disappointed:
"I think we all are. It's not a good feeling to be who we are and where we are right now. We know it's people out there that pay a lot of money and that respect what we've been trying to do, and you hate to let 'em down. But at the same time, I hope they understand that we're not TRYING to, you know what I mean?"

Around noon on Monday, reports surfaced via Rick Maese's Twitter that DeAngelo Hall would be the primary punt returner for the Redskins, replacing Antwaan Randle El. By a little more than an hour later, Ryan O'Halloran was tweeting a conflicting report -- one that squared with what I had been told here at Redskins Park -- that both Hall and Randle El would be involved in the return game, along with Santana Moss.

Randle El talked about this during open locker room today, and he wasn't particularly happy about the change, and he was doubly unhappy that he had learned about it via questions from reporters.

"I gotta find out the logistics of it myself in terms of the punt return," Randle El said. "My whole thing is I'm still gonna ... you know, given the opportunity, when I get the chance, I gotta go out and be little more productive, but, you know, it's not always just one guy there. So it's just a matter of ... you take it as it is: go out and play when you get your opportunity and be thankful for it and make the best of it."

A reporter mentioned that he didn't look thrilled about this change. "Not at all," Randle El responded. "But that's part of it sometimes."

In case that wasn't clear enough, another reporter asked if this was a tough pill for Randle El to swallow. "Little bit," he said.

Later in the day, speaking after practice -- and, apparently, after a meeting with Randle El -- head coach Jim Zorn clarified the situation. Mostly.

It's been a frustrating Technical Difficulties Wednesday. I'm hoping things are back to normal-ish now. We'll see.



One thing that's gotten a little lost in the coverage of yesterday's charitable event -- including my own -- is that it wasn't actually about the owner talking to the media. It was about the Washington Redskins Charitable Foundation unveiling their partnership with Price George's County Public Schools, which covers not only the maintenance of the fields, but also the continuation of many other charitable programs: Coaches in the Classroom, Redskins Read, 4th & Life, Harvest Feast and more.

It was a big deal for the Charitable Foundation -- and that, in fact, was the focus of owner Daniel Snyder's FIRST (and somewhat less-reported) comments yesterday.

Actually, his first comments are drowned out by the crowd and the wind, and his second comments are about giving the players a round of applause for being there on their day off. But after that he continued with the charitable stuff. Even there, though, you can spot hints of his frustration with the Redskins leaking through.

"The twelve fields that we're doing are very, very important to us, because it's giving back to the community. That's what it's all about. We recognize the importance of Prince George's County, where our stadium, FedExField is -- and we hope to do a little better next game there," he said.