The Redskins Blog

Stallworth’s Impact Bigger Than Numbers

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Reports surfaced two days ago that free agent receiver Donte’ Stallworth had agreed to terms with his former team, the New England Patriots, to return for the 2012 season.  Stallworth spent the 2011 season with the Redskins, his sixth team in as many seasons.

Stallworth was a serviceable receiver with the Redskins, making several spectacular catches, including a touchdown in the game against Dallas.  He had his best game of the year against the Patriots, burning his former teammates for 96 yards through the air.

But Stallworth’s finest hour in Washington was not on the field, and can’t be seen in the highlight reels.  His lasting impact on this franchise will be his influence on the players that constitute the youth movement in Washington.

When Stallworth came to Washington in August, he promised to provide the fabled ‘veteran leadership’ that many claim but few can provide.  His locker was positioned near the door, and players would chat with him on their way in and out of the locker room.

His most-profound impact was likely on rookie receivers Niles Paul and Leonard Hankerson, as well as fellow Bay Area-native DeJon Gomes.  Whether it was showing these players how to practice on the field, or how to act off of it, each of these three rookies blossomed into solid contributors for the team in 2011.

As a well-known free agent receiver, I knew Donte’ The Player before he joined the team.  But there were a few moments during the season when I realized what a professional he truly was. Read more »

Players Flex, Tweet Offseason Muscles

Yesterday, Redskins safety LaRon Landry (@MrLandry30) wowed Twitterverse with a photo of his arms, allegedly taken following his morning workout and protein regimen.  He tweeted simply, “You can’t build a reputation on what your going to do”… #grindmode.“

In the age of Photoshop, it’s easy to tweak a picture, but this somehow seems legitimate.  And hey, if I believe that Byron Westbrook did a Cinnamon and Old Bay Challenge, why shouldn’t I believe that Landry has ginormous arms?  Decide for yourself:

The real story, however, was in the response from his fellow players.  Today, teammates Donte’ Stallworth and Adam Carriker had something to add to the mirror muscle exposé. Read more »

Stallworth Flashes Back To Grant Union HS

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One of the most active Redskins media socialites so far this offseason has been receiver Donte’ Stallworth, who has launched many of his thoughts, musings and cosmic inquiries into Twitterverse.  If you don’t follow him (@DonteStallworth), I recommend it.

Today’s notable tidbit comes to us via his new favorite app, instagr.am picture sharing:

I recently signed up for @instagram and I must admit, I may be hooked already…expect hella pics out of me—
Donte' Stallworth (@DonteStallworth) January 10, 2012

No need for apologies, Donte’.  Just keep celebrating #ThrowbackThursday with pictures from your high school days:

Read more »

Redskins Players Back To The Real World

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For the last four months, 10:50 a.m. on a weekday has been my cue to walk down the steps at Redskins Park to chat with players in open locker room.  There weren’t always a lot of players available at a time, but there was always someone.

Taking a peek into the locker room today, most lockers are cleared out and there are no players in sight.  The only thing missing is a tumbleweed rolling out of the adjacent equipment room.

While some players make their offseason homes in Loudoun County, many others have dispersed across the country, back to the lives they live off the record.  In their first 24 hours of offseason living, some of these players have had a blast, while others have gone about their un-glamorous business.

Here’s a Twitter recap of the first 24 hours. Read more »

Third Quarter Thoughts

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Following a long touchdown pass to Roy Helu–the first receiving score of his career–the Redskins were right back in the game.  However, if they want to stay in it for the fourth quarter, they have to eliminate the big 15-yard penalties that are consistently pushing them backward.  So far, they have three of them on the afternoon.

The first was a penalty on Santana Moss for taking his helmet off after a play. He was understandably frustrated, but that’s a long-standing rule–on the field, helmets stay on.

The second penalty was on Donte’ Stallworth on the Roy Helu touchdown catch and run.  It’s unclear what exactly was going on, but Stallworth took a knee in the end zone and was flagged for excessive celebration, going to the ground in the end zone.

The third penalty was for a hit on a defenseless receiver, on the defense.

You can say what you want about the legitimacy of the rules, the interpretation of said rules, and whether or not the Redskins players violated those rules.  I certainly have my own thoughts on all three facets.  But no amount of angst or debate on the topic will change the fact that the Redskins put themselves in a position to be flagged for three flagrant fouls in a game that they’re losing.

This is a game for pride alone, and this isn’t the type of focused football that’s going to win this afternoon.

On a very positive note, running back Evan Royster is over 100 yards from scrimmage again this week, piling up 73 on the ground and 37 through the air.  It’s hard to project how Royster and Helu will pan out to a 16-game season, but the experience that they’ve gained in their respective rookie campaigns have laid the groundwork for an informed, focused offseason.

Although the Redskins haven’t found their top guy in the passing game today, Grossman has spread the ball around, finding nine different receivers, including Brandon Banks for the time this season.  Receiver Jabar Gaffney was a non-factor in the third quarter and still needs 53 yards to reach 1,000 on the season.

After three quarters in Philadelphia, it’s still in reach for the Burgundy and Gold: Redskins 7, Eagles 13.

Redskins Ready To Rumble In ‘The Linc’

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Redskins players have taken and exited the field this afternoon, and they look ready to find meaning in this supposedly meaningless Week 17 game.

For Redskins punter Sav Rocca, this is his first return to his first NFL city, to take on a team that wanted to get younger at the punter postion.  In the first game against the Eagles this season, Rocca had a fine game, booting four times for a 42.5 average, a long of 53, and two punts downed inside the 20.

In pregame warmup, he and battery mate Nick Sundberg was rocketing bombs down the field.  Here’s his last effort:

Fellow special teamer Graham Gano was knocking his own missiles through the uprights from distances of 60 yards.  They both look calm and unaffected by the 10-15 mph winds.

On the offense, this is also the return of Jabar Gaffney and Donte’ Stallworth to Philadelphia.  Gaffney is chasing a career-year, having already matched his touchdown mark and exceeded his yardage output for a season.  With a touchdown and 81 more yards, he’ll finish the season as the team’s top receiver, with his first 1,000 yard season and six touchdowns.

Stallworth wasn’t backing down from heckles during pregame warmup, and seemed especially fired up–even for him.  Here’s footage of the receivers warming up with coach Keenan McCardell:

Gaffney seems to have perfected the one-handed touchdown catch.  Nothing like a little flair to go with his best season ever.

Here are the players’ tweeted thoughts as kickoff approaches:

#TheLinc – last day to have some fun until September 😔 DAMN!!! Let's go out with a bang #Redskins—
Donte' Stallworth (@DonteStallworth) January 01, 2012

Happy New Year! Let's start this new year off right with a "W". HTTR!!!—
Adam Carriker (@AdamCarriker) January 01, 2012

Season Finale. #HTTR. Hail To The Redskins.—
Travon Bellamy (@Travon_Bellamy) January 01, 2012

Rumble young man rumble…—
Brandyn Thompson (@BThompson_BT) January 01, 2012

Nothing like playing vs your old team… #Philadelphia I love you!! But for these next 6, 7 hours it's on and poppin' #HTTR—
Donte' Stallworth (@DonteStallworth) January 01, 2012

And in case you were wondering, not even one nationally recognized NFL expert is picking the Redskins to win.  This reminds me of when the Redskins went on the road two weeks ago and knocked off the Giants in decisive fashion.

Don’t count that out from happening again.  And don’t forget to participate in the “2012 Social Showdown” in the next few minutes.

The Southpaw Chronicles: Brandon Banks

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After Brandon Banks revealed to the world that he was a lefty with a gadget touchdown pass against the New England Patriots, it piqued my interest in the left-handers on the team.

It turns out that lefties comprise 15 percent of the population, but are a brilliant class of people.  There are many famous lefties, including four of the last six presidents, Joan of Arc, Alexander the Great, and Bart Simpson.

With the help of Redskins.com’s Jessica Monaldo and receiver Anthony Armstrong, I identified the southpaws on the team, and sought to find out what makes them so brilliant.

I began my search with Banks, the man who inspired my mission.

Banks’s world-class speed is well documented, and vision allows him to find creases in the coverage, and accelerate upfield.  Although rarely used, he also has the type of game-changing speed on offense that forces defenses to respect all that he can do.

But according to a Yahoo! Sports contribution by Rebecca Bardelli, Banks also has some of the best hair in the NFL. Read more »

Halftime Report From FedExField

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In the last two weeks Darrel Young has gone from an unsung hero in the blocking game, to being a weapon and playmaker on offense.  On the Redskins touchdown drive early in the second quarter, Young caught two passes for 33 yards.  At the time, he was the team’s top receiver, and it was Young’s top receiving day, ever.

Not a bad offensive performance for a former linebacker from an FBS college.

The drive was culminated in a short touchdown reception by receiver Donte’ Stallworth, who stretched the ball across the goal line before absorbing a savage hit.  He also negated a sack on the ensuing drive by converting a long third down with a nimble catch and run.

Stallworth has also been a bright spot for the Redskins down the stretch, providing sure hands on the field and quality leadership off of it.  Stallworth watched the Redskins-Dolphins game as a free agent before rejoining the team the following week.  He has two receptions for 24 yards today and 18 receptions for 266 yards and two touchdowns on the year.  He has 220 of his yards and both touchdowns since he rejoined the team.

Running back Evan Royster looked much more comfortable in the second quarter, rushing four times for 24 yards, increasing his game average to 5.9 yards per carry.  Not only has he found good yards after contact, he also played an instrumental role in picking up Stallworth’s long third down conversion by throwing a deep block.

The top defender in the first half has been one of the top defenders in the NFL this season–middle linebacker London Fletcher.  After falling behind early, he rallied his fellow defenders to get back on their horses and shut the Vikings out.  The Redskins–led by the NFL’s top tackler–haven’t yielded points to the Vikings since the 14:56 mark in the second quarter.

Brand new ballgame in the second half, as the Redskins brough it back to even: Washington 10, Minnesota 10.

Patriots In The Rear-View Mirror

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The last time that the Redskins clashed with the Patriots was in 2007 under mildy New England skies.

Quarterback Jason Campbell threw a touchdown and an interception, in addition to fumbling the ball three times on three sacks.  The Redskins rushing attack managed only 47 yards on the ground, while the defense yielded 486 total yards to the Pats’ fabled offense.

Fans who watched it all the way through managed to see the Redskins tack on a touchdown onto the scoring parade, with the game mercifully ending at 52-7.

The scary thing is that some people expected that to happen again, yesterday–or worse.  But the Redskins showed up in a big way.

This season has been defined by progress.  When the team came out of training camp with 25 players with less than three years experience, it was considered a sign of progress towards a much-needed influx of youth.  When the team started out 3-1, it was seen as progress towards competitiveness.  When the team lost six-straight, but kept fighting and didn’t fracture emotionally, it was considered progress in character.

And when the Redskins showed up yesterday, they proved that they have the heart to show up ready to play.  Last week’s late loss to the Jets could have deflated this group, but they rose to the occasion.  Injuries and suspensions have utterly decimated a Redskins’ offense that nearly out-dueled the NFL’s No. 2 offense.  The defense picked off Tom Brady, who hadn’t thrown an interception since Week 9.

Even in a loss, yesterday was a fine example of progress, as the Redskins played perhaps their best game all season.  Yesterday, the Redskins showed that their progress is paying off, and that there’s a lot to look forward to, both immediately and in the future.

Special kudos for yesterday’s game go out to the following players:

On Offense: Roy Helu

Who else?  This young man is showing the vast potential of mid-round backs in the Shanahan system, putting up three-consecutive 100-yard games with his 126 yards yesterday.  With yesterday’s performance, he is:

• The first rookie running back to accomplish this feat in franchise history.
• The first of his 2011 rookie draft class to do so.
• The first Redskins running back since Clinton Portis went five-straight in 2008.
• The first 100-yard rusher against the Patriots this season.

Even though he didn’t get his first career start until Week 8 against San Francisco, Helu has already accomplished multiple feats never seen before in this organization.  That’s not just noteworthy, that’s downright impressive.

On Defense: Barry Cofield

Cofield will never get the credit that he deserves as the 3-4 nose tackle in Washington, but fortunately, he doesn’t seem to mind.  He finished yesterday with five tackles, putting him at 55 on the season.  He added in a half-sack of Brady, and was credited with his league leading (among nose tackle) ninth pass defensed.

On Special Teams: Brandon Banks

Admittedly, this recognition goes for his overall performance, not just what he was able to do on special teams.  Banks got all of his work on kickoff returns yesterday, managing 117 total return yards.  But when you combine that with his 49-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter–now we’re talking.  Notes on that pass:

• Was the first by a Redskins receiver since Oct. 5, 2008, when Antwaan Randle El threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to tight end Chris Cooley at Philadelphia.
• The longest by a non-quarterback in Redskins’ history, beating the previous long of 48, set on a Randle El pass to Moss vs. the New York Giants on Dec. 30, 2006.
• It was the first of Banks’ career. He did not attempt a pass in college during his time at either Kansas State or Bakersfield College (Calif.).
• The touchdown reception was the 35^th of Moss’ tenure with the Redskins, tying him with Ricky Sanders for seventh-most in team history.

Here are the rest of your random assortment of game notes: Read more »

First Quarter First Impressions

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For better and for worse, this is not how the Redskins expected to start.  This has been a weird first quarter for both teams.

After their respective first scoring drives, the Redskins had 60 passing yards and the Patriots had 24.  The Redskins were able to drive the length of the field–albeit for a field goal–and the Patriots got their touchdown on defense.

In the first three minutes, Redskins returner Brandon Banks had three opportunities and two returns for a total of 38 yards. Donte Stallworth had his longest reception as a Redskins player at 51 yards, which happened to be Grossman’s longest pass of the year, and the Redskins’ longest offensive play of the season.

Kicker Graham Gano put the only Redskins points on the board so far, but he’s also responsible for a 20-yard penalty for kicking the ball off out of bounds.

In the stands in front of the press box there was a fight between fans–two Patriots fans, that is.

Somewhere, Vince Lombardi is politely inquiring what’s going on out there.

With the Patriots jumping out to a quick lead and the Redskins responding, this game has all of the makings of a track meet.  Stallworth–who is tied with Gronkowski for most yards in the league this Sunday–has seen a lot of playing time alongside Anthony Armstrong.

Following two consecutive 100-yard games on the ground, Roy Helu is churning and burning his way, to the tune of 51 yards, good for third in the league today.

Defensive end Stephen Bowen–who has had an emotional week with the funeral of his mother-in-law–burst through the line to end the first quarter with a sack.  He’s playing with a heavy heart this week, but was all heart on that play as he dragged No. 12 to the turf.  Well done, Stephen.

My picture-perfect moment of the first quarter was watching Jabar Gaffney do a FedEx leap onto Patriots fans who were not interested in catching him.  But the second row of Redskins fans hauled him up and celebrated his touchdown properly.

Redskins marching, down by four after the first quarter: Washington 10, New England 14.