The Redskins Blog

Redskins Linebackers Garnering Attention

(AP Photo)

On Sunday, linebackers London Fletcher and Ryan Kerrigan were named to the NFC Pro Bowl squad. They join fellow linebacker Lorenzo Alexander, who was selected as the NFC special-teamer, as well as offensive tackle Trent Williams for the annual game in Hawaii.

It is the fourth-consecutive trip for Fletcher, who was snubbed before coming to Washington in 2007.  It is the inaugural trip for teammates Kerrigan, Williams and Alexander.

With the rightful inclusion of three Redskins linebackers in the Pro Bowl, the Redskins now boast one of the strongest linebacking corps in the NFL. This is a major accomplishment for defensive coordinator Jim Haslett and his coaching staff, who converted the Redskins from a 4-3 system to the 3-4 after his arrival in 2010.

Find out what the rest of the Redskins linebacker unit said here as well as an interesting fact that the Redskins share with a Super Bowl-bound team:

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Watch LIVE: Coordinators, Shanahan

Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan, defensive coordinator Jim Haslett and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan will be taking questions from reporters today, and you see what they have to say LIVE.

Simply tune in to our Ustream channel around 1:45 p.m. Those on mobile devices can access the live feed by clicking here, and you can also access the live video feed via the Redskins.com homepage.

The Shanahans and Haslett will obviously have lots to address today as the Redskins (10-6) — winners of seven straight and NFC East champions — prepare for Sunday’s NFC Wildcard Round playoff showdown vs. the Seattle Seahawks (11-5) in the first postseason game at FedExField since 1999. You can expect lots of questions about:

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Watch LIVE: Coordinators, Shanahan

(AP photos)

Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan, defensive coordinator Jim Haslett and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan will be taking questions from reporters today, and you see what they have to say LIVE.

Simply tune in to our Ustream channel around 1:45 p.m. Those on mobile devices can access the live feed by clicking here, and you can also access the live video feed via the Redskins.com homepage.

The Shanahans and Haslett will obviously have lots to address today as the Redskins (9-6) — winners of six straight — prepare for Sunday night’s showdown vs. the Dallas Cowboys; a game in which the winner is awarded the NFC East title. You can expect lots of questions about:

Read more »

The Bill Goldberg/Jim Haslett Connection

(AP photo)

In one of the more interesting nuggets of the morning, it was discovered that legendary professional wrestler Bill Goldberg once played for Washington Redskins defensive coordinator Jim Haslett.

Goldberg talked about the connection on Thursday’s episode of “4th and Pain,” the wrestling-centric show hosted by Redskins’ defensive end Adam Carriker and co-host, Chuck Carroll.

Goldberg, who starred as a defensive end at the University of Georgia, was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the 11th round of the 1990 NFL Draft, but briefly left the NFL for a spot on the Sacramento Surge of the World League of American Football, which, in 1992, won the world championship.

A defensive assistant coach on that championship Surge team? Haslett.

“To be able play, win a world championship in the World Football League and be coached by a defensive coordinator so cool as Jim Haslett, I have to pinch myself every day,” Goldberg told Carriker and Carroll. “Anytime you can play the sport [with] a coach that you respect because of his playing days and that you revere because of his mentality, you’re an extension of him, obviously, by being part of the defensive team. It was an honor, and probably the best football experience of my life.”

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Hoping These Rankings Change Soon

Over the offseason, the Washington Redskins added a skilled, athletic rookie quarterback and gave a shot in the arm to their receiving corps with the addition of Pierre Garçon and Josh Morgan.

They also return one of the best defensive front sevens in the NFL and brought in a sparkplug in Raheem Morris to improve the team’s defensive secondary.

Those additions — as well as a few more newbies meshing with the returners on offense and defense — give Redskins fans something to be optimistic about in 2012.

But, as of right now, NFL.com just isn’t as impressed.

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Projecting The Redskins In 2015

(AP photo)

ESPN’s Trent Dilfer, Mel Kiper, Gary Horton and Matt Williamson today released a very interesting perspective of what they believed the NFL could look like in three years.

Where did the Redskins stack up?

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Jackson Brings The Hammer To Secondary

Tanard Jackson signs his new contract at Redskins Park on Friday morning.

After inconsistent play at the back end of the Redskins’ secondary last season, the team made the decision to go in a new direction for 2012.  With the additions of Brandon Meriweather, Madieu Williams and now Tanard Jackson, the Redskins are set to have revamped talent and depth at safety next season.

Jackson, 26, comes to the Redskins after being released by the Buccaneers earlier this week.  In Washington, Jackson has an ardent supporter in defensive backs coach Raheem Morris, who was his head coach in Tampa Bay.  Jackson also becomes the latest of a growing list of Redskins that hail from the DC-Maryland-Virginia area, having grown up in Potomac, Md.

Jackson brings a scary presence to the Redskins’ secondary, and matches the fearsome playmaker that defensive coordinator Jim Haslett is seeking.  Here are a few of his highlight hits in recent seasons: Read more »

Tuesday Senior Bowl Notes: The Coaches

via NFL Network

There were many reasons to be excited about watching today’s NFL Network coverage of the Shanahan-led Senior Bowl South Team’s practice.

For media, this was the first time since training camp that they’ve been privy to a practice in its entirety.  For most fans, this was the first opportunity to see how Redskins coaches interact with their respective group of position players.

I just thought it was pleasant to watch a “Redskins” practice from my living room.  I’m all about the simple things in life.

Here are some screen shots taken from today’s television coverage, with a focus on the Redskins coaching staff: Read more »

Hilliard Brings ‘Selfless’ Label To Coaching

AP Image

Yesterday evening, the Redskins announced that long-time Giants and Buccaneers receiver Isaac “Ike” Hilliard would be taking over the reins at wide receivers coach on the staff.

Now, we can finally ‘Like Ike.’

Hilliard was a first round (7th overall) pick by the Giants in 1997.  Over the course of his career, he had 546 receptions for 6,397 yards and 35 touchdowns.  As a division rival, he played the Redskins 14 times, tied for the most against any one team.  He also registered career-bests against the Burgundy and Gold in receptions (52), yards (690), touchdowns (7).

And now he’ll be looking to make more happy memories in Washington–ones that Redskins fans can really appreciate.

Despite the superstar pizzazz that seems to come standard with the receiver position, Hilliard has always had a professional, understated approach, which he can impart on the young receivers in Washington.

And even though most players struggle to make the transition to the sidelines, coaching is a passion for Hilliard.

After retiring in 2008, Hilliard wanted to try his hand at coaching the next season, but no paid positions were available.  So Hilliard joined the staff of UFL Florida Tusker’s head coach Jim Haslett as a volunteer with the wide receivers.

The Tuskers had a perfect regular season in 2009, leading the league in passing and scoring, winning by an average of 15 points.  With the success of the offense, Hilliard earned a promotion to the receivers coach position in 2010, as head coach Haslett departed for the Redskins.

Courtesy of Outside the Huddle with the Florida Tuskers, here’s a look at Ike the Coach, circa 2010: Read more »

Takeaways Being Taken Away On Defense

AP Image

Since the dawn of the Jim Haslett era in Washington, takeaways have been a concerted effort for the Redskins defense.  Haslett has built his team around players with a nose for the football, and playmakers throughout the secondary.

Through 16 games last year, the Redskins had 25 takeaways on defense.  Through six game this year, the Redskins have eight, which leaves them tied for 19th in the league.  This puts them on pace for 21 this season.

Cornerback DeAngelo Hall, who had six of the team’s 14 interceptions last year, has been limited to one interception this year.  He discussed how game-planning a quarterback plays into being able to make plays in the secondary:

“I think, from a scheme stand point, we’ve tried to do the things that are gonna help us win games,” he explained.  ”And consequently, it did hurt us in terms of trying to get turnovers.  We had to put guys arount Cam Newton, we had to put guys around Michael Vick.”

By playing more defenders closer to the line of scrimmage, it took them out of the equation to force turnovers, especially in the secondary.

“We feel like we’ve been trying to get in the best defense that we can, to win the game,” he said.  ”But you have to be put in a position to make those plays.  We’ve been facing some guys and some quarterbacks over the last couple of weeks that have hand-cuffed us in that area of the game-plan a little bit, as far as being able to sit in some zones and pick some things off.    We are trying to get turnovers, but at the same time, we can’t sit in our coverages and allow the quarterback to run all over the field.”

After back-to-back games against two of the game’s best scrambling quarterbacks, Hall expressed his anticipation of facing a Bills quarterback that plays in the pocket.

“[Ryan] Fitzpatrick isn’t a scrambling type of guy, so hopefully we can scheme something around trying to get some turnovers,” he said.

Check out the rest of Hall’s thoughts, below: Read more »