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….

• Somehow, H.B. Blades is doing extensive work on the side just nine days after surgery, and may be available for Sunday’s game. Byron Westbrook did limited sidework, but is likely out Sunday. And Chris Horton tweaked his knee today; no details on that yet.
• The wide receivers seemed to be having a rough practice today. I saw Malcolm Kelly get reprimanded for attempting a one-handed catch, and it wasn’t even a particularly good attempt; it almost looked like he was stiff-arming the ball away. Devin Thomas had his routes corrected a couple times and also had a couple balls bounce off his hands deep.
• Albert Haynesworth managed to overturn a tackling dummy hard enough that it threw off the plates that weigh it down; it took three people to pick up the plates one at a time to replace them. Just a freakish display of force by Haynesworth.
• Alvin Bowen (of all people) had the hit of practice, one that fired up the whole defense and earned him a bunch of cheers. Bowen — remember the compliance linebacker on the practice squad? — came clear through a blocker and just blew up the running back, not unlike in the compliance linebacker videos. It was the most electric moment of the entire practice, and left the running back — either Portis or Betts, couldn’t see — stunned for a few seconds.

“Today was a real good day,” Jones told me. “I mean, I feel good about the plays; I’m not worried about gettin’ out there and playin’, I’m just worried about getting’ out there and knowing what TO do. I’ve been starting for seven years, so playing … that’s gonna be second nature to me. But knowing what to do in new schemes, new offense, new technique … well, I got with our center, Casey Rabach, and I’m starting to feel good about that.”

The biggest potential stumbling block for Jones is the difference between the systems used in Cincinnati and here. “If you go to a system that very similar to your old one,” Jones said, “not too much changes. A lot of these coaches come from the same tree, just spread out and branch out, but when you come from a system like Cincinnati to a system like this, it’s completely different. I mean, a lot of the pass schemes and stuff like that are the same, but the techniques are totally different. And if you’re not doing the coach’s techniques, and you’re not getting’ ‘em right out there, if you’re not working on ‘em and trying to get what he’s telling you, you’re not gonna be able to get out there.”

Working at least somewhat in Jones’s favor is something he had all but forgotten: he learned a variant on the Redskins system a long time ago. “That’s the funny thing about it, because all the techniques that they’re trying to get me to do now, and everything that they have going on is what I learned in college. My offensive line coach, Dan Cozzetto, learned under the Joe Bugel offensive line system. So all this stuff, I was doing in college and doing … well, doing well enough to be drafted in the first round, you know?

“Then I get to Cincinnati,” he continued, “and everything changes, and I conform to Cincinnati and Coach [Paul] Alexander and his techniques, and now it’s like I gotta go back there [to the college techniques]. But it ain’t like riding a bike; ‘back there’ is eight years ago.”

If Jones can overcome these mental concerns, his body should hold up … he thinks. “Health feels great,” he said. ” I mean, surprisingly good. Better than I’ve felt in a LONG time. I’m ready to go.”

See, here’s the thing about practice today: it was cold, and rainy, and not much of interest happened. Phillip Daniels didn’t practice, but is expected to go tomorrow and still plans to play Sunday. Cornelius Griffin and Albert Haynesworth were limited. Clinton Portis participated, at least a bit.
If the tension of the season is coming to a head for the team, I certainly couldn’t tell by watching practice. It looked … well, it looked like all the other practices, only wetter and colder. The mood seemed good. Everyone seemed to be working hard, jawing at each other, and beating themselves up when they messed up. I didn’t see anything that indicated that the makeshift offensive line would be stellar, nor did I see anything that leads me to expect epic failure.

Head coach Jim Zorn summed it up, pretty much. “They are filling the spot,” he said. “Chris Samuels has been to the Pro Bowl many times and it’s hard to fill his spot but they are going to give great effort and the other guys are in a couple different places. The thing we’ve got to do is be assignment smart and then when we get out there, battle. I don’t think everything is going to be perfect but it is going to be exciting and we’re going to do well enough to win this football game.”

That “it’s going to be exciting” has a sort of “may you live in interesting times” ring to it, but on the whole I like Zorn’s bravado here.

Actually, Zorn inadvertently summed the whole practice up with his his answer to a question about practicing in the rain. “We went down for footballs and we slid in the slop,” he said. “We did what we needed to do.”

It’s not until today, Wednesday, that the guys get to get back to actually playing football.

Today’s practice went through some of the weirdest weather I’ve ever experienced, starting cool and cloudy, then getting very hot when the sun came through, then pouring rain, and finally settling back on the initial cool-and-cloudy.

Not practicing today were Albert Haynesworth, Clinton Portis, Carlos Rogers, and Mike Sellers. Rogers said after practice that he expects to be back, possibly as soon as tomorrow. Portis, during his media session, said that his ankles are fine and that he’s good. And Coach Jim Zorn said that he expects Haynesworth “to improve all week,” and that they’re trying to keep Sellers’ quad loose.

Just a few notes from practice:

• Campbell stayed after practice and worked with Malcolm Kelly, Devin Thomas, and Marko Mitchell. Which is good, because Kelly’s performance especially has been hugely frustrating to me as an observer of the team. I saw him work hard in the offseason, excel throughout preseason, and say all the right things the whole time. But none of that changes the fact that — over three games — he has just six catches for 65 yards. Thomas didn’t have quite as impressive an offseason, and Mitchell — despite his preseason success — is a rookie seventh-rounder, and doesn’t have quite the weight of expectations. Hopefully this extra work will help all of those guys, but Kelly’s the one that perplexes me most.
• Thomas caught a nice long ball from Campbell during the active part of practice as well. Both the throw and catch were solid, but it looked more like a failure by rookie CB Kevin Barnes to get his head around than anything else.
• Interesting contrast between the scout team, which moved around a lot pre-snap in the style of Tampa Bay, and the actual Redskins offense, which doesn’t use much motion at all. Zorn’s offense has never featured a whole lot of pre-snap motion, but the contrast today was striking.
• Portis really doesn’t seem particularly worried about his ankles, and says that his calf bruise is what’s keeping him out. Here he is talking at his media session today. “My ankles are much better. The first two weeks I really couldn’t even sit in position to pass block. I think right now, as far as my ankles, I can run around, I can stop, and I can cut. The treatment that I’ve been getting – the new program that I’ve been on – is working great. Right now my ankles don’t have any pain. It’s just unfortunate for me that I’ve got a calf contusion. I think I’ll be fine. There’s going to be wear and tear. This is the NFL, and I’m going to go out and continue to play, and give everything I’ve got.”
• Similarly, Coach Zorn doesn’t seem worried about his job security. A national reporter from ESPN asked him about his level of worry, and Zorn seemed almost brusque in response. “None. Why would I worry about my job security? We’re three games into the season and I’m working to win.”
• At one point during practice, Zorn was asking for the ball to be thrown back to him from a downfield play. “I got it,” he said, with the ball in the air; then defensive backs coach Jerry Gray stepped in front of him and and batted the ball away. Once a defensive back, always a defensive back, I guess.

But the real stories of practice came afterward, in the form of some good news and some bad news. Here’s a picture to help you guess the good news.

No, Colt Brennan is not going to be playing quarterback (although he is back in the facility and in generally good spirits.)

The good news is that Chad Rinehart will be starting at right guard. Zorn walked to the podium and said “The Rhino!”, thus preempting Washington Post reporter Jason Reid, who had been extremely excited to ask if it would be The Thrill (Will Montgomery) or The Rhino.

I say that Rinehart earning the starting job is good news not as a knock on The Thrill, but because — as Zorn noted — Montgomery “can play both positions. He is a guy that I’ve got to have at center and guard. That was part of the conversation as we went along.” In the unfortunate event of another injury, having Montgomery available as a the next guy up should prevent the need for some kind of double-switch.

(I also happen to think that The Rhino has looked like he might be a pretty solid guy at guard, but we’ll all get answers to that question starting on Sunday.)

And the bad news is that Zorn says that Clinton Portis — who was on the sidelines for much of practice with a hooded sweatshirt under his jersey — is “questionable” for Sunday’s game with a “couple little spurs that are irritating him” in both ankles.

Of course, Zorn also said that he expects “Clinton to be out there ripping around” on Sunday, so it’s not quite as bad as it might seem, but spurs in both ankles is not the word you want to hear about your Pro Bowl running back.

The most notable play of today’s full-pads practice came toward the end. The first-team defense completely blew up a screen pass: Andre Carter threw his blocker to the ground like the guy wasn’t even resisting, and Albert Haynesworth came clear through the line, intercepted the screen pass, and returned it for what would’ve been a touchdown, all to general cheers from the players and coaches on the sidelines.

Haynesworth, not always the most effusive guy in the world, seemed unsure what to do immediately after the play, and somone yelled, “Where’s your dance?”

So Albert Haynesworth — to even bigger cheers — very briefly did the Stanky Leg, most familiar to Redskins fans as Fred Davis‘s 2009 preseason touchdown dance.

After practice, Davis was a bit critical of Haynesworth’s interpretation. “More like the Musty Leg,” he said. “It wasn’t too good; he’s gotta work on it some more. Get a little more stinky with it.”

(I also asked Davis when we’d see him dancing again. “Hopefully soon,” he told me. “Gotta catch touchdowns, gotta start catching some balls.”)

Haynesworth shrugged the criticism off — with a smile, I should specify. “I was ’bout to hit it,” he told me, “but then I was just like, ‘Nah.’”

“He’s a little tight in the hips,” Andre Carter explained. (Again, jokingly. To be very clear and stave off crazed reports on ProFootballTalk: it was a joke. There is nothing damaged with Haynesworth’s hips.)

Cornelius Griffin was devastated. “I missed it, man,” he said. “I missed it. I asked him if he danced, and he just kinda muttered, ‘Yeah.’” Griffin shook his head. “Missed it.”

Fred Smoot also missed it, having been positioned too far downfield to see. Unlike Griffin, he wasn’t too disappointed. “His leg’s too big to do the Stanky Leg,” he said.

Other practice notes:

• Speaking of Smoot, he participated fully in practice and looked fine doing it. “I’m focusing, man,” he told me. “No doubt that I’m playing this week.” The only person who wasn’t at practice at all was Mike Williams, sent home with a stomach illness. Jason Campbell, Clinton Portis, and Anthony Montgomery were limited, but Campbell looked strong the times I saw him working. I don’t see many worries on that front.
• Despite my preseason jitters, Malcolm Kelly continues to practice, continues to catch the ball effectively away from his body, and continues to generally look like a real live wide receiver. (Still knocking on wood after writing that, though.)

• Seeing Anthony Alridge in action again, two things become immediately clear. First, he’s just as fast as I remembered. And second, he’s still having some trouble catching the ball. If he can get that cleared up, he’s going to be dangerous.
• I happened to see more of Chad Rinehart‘s offensive line work than Will Montgomery‘s — the two are splitting time until a starter is named — and Rinehart, at least, looks like a potentially solid contributor at guard. The starters are working with both guys, advising them away from the play and critiquing their work, and it’s clearly having an effect. “He’s working hard,” Derrick Dockery said of Rinehart. “As a young guy, that’s what I did. It wasn’t like I was doing everything perfect, I just worked extremely hard.” As for Rinehart, he’s giving all the right — and boring — answers. “I felt like I competed and did what I was expected to,” he told me, “showed ‘em that I could play.” We’ll see, maybe.
• One other notable play: LaRon Landry jumped to intercept the ball along the sidelines, made the catch, and lateraled the ball from mid-air into DeAngelo Hall‘s arms. It was a sweet-looking but risky play, the sort of thing that the guys do in practice but wouldn’t break out in a game. I dearly, dearly hope.

I was late getting out to practice today, so I missed the debut of the newest innovation from Coach Jim Zorn: music during stretching. Zorn explained after pracitice: “Chris [Cooley] asked me about a year ago, ‘Can’t we have music out here?’ It took me a long time to decide. I thought it would just loosen up everybody, and it did. I thought our guys enjoyed it. We’ll keep it up for a while and see how it goes.” Zorn compared it to the music played during pregame warmups in the stadium, but quickly demurred when asked if the music came from his iPod. “Not mind,” he said. “We had a little Jay-Z and we had some Metallica out there as well.”

(And, to head off the inevitable question, someone — I think Rich Campbell of the Free Lance-Star — asked if this wasn’t a strange thing to do after a loss. “No,” Zorn said, sounding completely taken aback by the suggestion.)

And that, frankly, was probably the most interesting part of practice. A few other memorable — although by and large not incredibly significant — moments:

• The cornerbacks were working out extensively with the tackling dummies. (Yes, they were doing it by tackling them. You’re all very funny.) The actual drill involved pushing past one dummy and flattening another, with the second one being moved around by one of the players. Everyone seemed very enthusastic about the drill, the dummies were being suitably flattened, and none of it will matter if the tackling doesn’t improve in this week’s game.
• DeAngelo Hall was kneeling on the sideline, possibly re-tying his cleats, when the horn sounded for position groups to split off. Albert Haynesworth jogged toward Hall, then hurdled the kneeling cornerback with one hand on his helmet for balance. That was impressive. And then I realized that he was running straight at me at a decent clip. I got out of the way, of course, but given how large and fast he looked in that situation, I can’t imagine what it looks like to see him bearing down on you at top speed with his full game face on.
• Andre’ Woodson is still here, furthering the wild and crazy theory that he was actually brought in because the coaching staff likes him, not just for the Giants gameplan. Which is good, because having him here certainly didn’t seem to solve the Giants.
• Rookie fullback Eddie Williams lost his footing while caught up in the blocking wave of a play and had to avoid being trampled by scooting very quickly out of the way in a sitting position. It’s the sort of thing that doesn’t sound particularly interesting but looked absolutely bizarre, and led to the players on the sidelines who weren’t involved in that personnel grouping trying — and largely failing — to imitate the maneuver.
• Based on on-field player response, the play of the day was a sharply thrown pass from Jason Campbell to Santana Moss along the sidelines. Unfortunately, it was along the opposite sideline from where I was standing and there were fifty-odd football players between me and it, so I have no idea what made the play so impressive.

Also, after practice, Zorn addressed one of the most-asked questions in the wake of Sunday’s game: if Jason Campbell is statistically so much better throwing out of the shotgun formation, why not do that more. Here’s Zorn’s reasoning:

“We are a good gun team. I think we’re a good play-action team. We’re a decent movement team. We can throw hot from gun or underneath the center. So all those elements have to be in a ball game just for deception. But I think we actually are more in the gun, even on second down now, than we ever have been. And Jason’s comfortable with it.”

But, he explained, you can’t be in shotgun all the time, especially not in his offensive system. “Not if we want to be deceptive with our draws,” he said. “Not if we want to be deceptive on third down to run the ball. You expand your passing game, but you’re telling the team, ‘Hey, we’re throwing the ball.’”

And finally, Zorn suggested that we not put too much weight in those shotgun numbers: “He’s probably got more completions in the gun based on two-minute drills, based on those kind of things. So some of that stuff skews the statistics.”

Oh, and one other Zorn note: he completely understand the importance placed on the Redskins by the fans, and has no problem with that level of pressure. “We live in an area where everybody loves the Redskins, and everybody creates an importance for the Redskins to win. So I’m not surprised. I think there is a high expectation and the bar is set very high in this community, so [Jason Campbell is] messing with you if he says he was surprised, because that’s no surprise to me.”

Two guys jumped out at me as having big days today. The first was rookie defensive end Jeremy Jarmon, who continues to impress. On one play he threw a blocker aside — Fred Davis, I believe — with as much force as I’ve ever seen. Saying that someone threw a guy “like a ragdoll” is an enormous cliche for a reason, but that’s what this looked like. Jarmon also batted a pass down at the line against the first team offense, and just generally looked strong throughout the day.

The second guy was Shaun Suisham.

Suisham, coming off a training camp battle for his job, started today’s practice by consistently putting the ball into the endzone on kickoff drills, and finished his day by drilling all of his attempts during full team field goal drills. That included several makes from around 48 and 43 yards, and it wasn’t like they were just clearing the uprights. Not sure if he’s fired up by making the team or what, but Suisham looks far more confident and consistent than he did at any point in the last month.

The defensive backs were having fun, not just joking with LaRon Landry about the Brandon Jacobs hit, but — in the case of Fred Smoot — with yelling at second-year wide receiver Devin Thomas.

The offense was dominating the D-backs in 1-on-1 drills, including Smoot getting beaten for a touchdown, and Thomas decided to point that fact out. Smoot’s response, as best I could jot it down: “This is 1-on-1s. Do that in the game. And for now, do this” — he put his finger to his lips — “be quiet.”

You can click to enlarge the picture above, but it really won’t change very much. The three quarterbacks participating in practice will still look small and far away. That’s because, relative to Colt Brennan, wearing burgundy sweats and a gray Redskins long-sleeve T-shirt on the right of the photo, they ARE small and far away.

This was the second practice since Brennan was put on injured reserve, ending his 2009 season before it could even start, and it’s the second straight time that I’ve noticed him staring fixedly at the quarterback group. They run drills and dodge the rush from one of the strength coaches and get the ball away, and Brennan stands well off to the side with his arms crossed, watching.

Even if he’s watching, though, Brennan is careful to stand far enough away that he can’t hear what the coaches are saying, because — while he’s allowed to be outside for practice — he’s not allowed to participate. At all.

You might ask Brennan how that feels; I certainly did. His answer, initially, was one word long:

“Boring,” he said, flatly.Boring it may be, to stand on the sidelines during practice — and it certainly is more boring than actually participating, although it’s less boring than, say, technical writing — but Brennan is still determined to take the most of it, and to do the best he can to turn watching into ability.

That’s all I’ve got left, really,” he said. “What I can learn from watching. I’ve had some ideas, and I’ve thought about some things, and I’m obviously not gonna let this time be to waste. I’ve talked to some of the defensive guys about going to some of their meetings; I go to all of the offensive meetings. I’m just gonna try to become a student of the game and try to just gain as much knowledge as I can and to do things that in 16 years of football, I haven’t had a chance to do.”

Brennan sounded quiet and determined as he said this, about as far from the goofy guy making Tony Romo spoof videos with Chris Cooley as you can possibly be. But Brennan also pointed out that this seriousness has always been a part of what’s helped along the way, even when it isn’t part of his public persona.

“I think I definitely am a hard worker,” he said, when I asked about the laid-back front he generally presents. “I’ve dealt with some injuries, I’ve risen through some adversity, and the only way you get through that stuff is with hard work and dedication. And I know that about myself, you know? I was a walk-on at two universities, went to juco, went to prep school, but I was always determined, and I was always gonna work hard. But I think now, because you’re put in this mode where you’re not allowed to participate, not allowed to really do a lot of things that you normally would do, it makes you want to do other things to fill that void.”

Brennan gestured out at the fields where a few of his teammates were still doing post-practice work. “For instance, I can’t practice, I can’t do this, but now I wanna do some more stuff just to make that time seem useful. And because I’m not able to do a whole lot right, that’s why I kinda want to do a whole lot more.”

And sometimes, you see things completely differently when you’re not trying to actually DO those things at the same time.

“It’s funny,” Brennan said, “when you step back in this mode and you’re more of a watcher, how your eyes open up a little bit more. You start to see things a lot different. I guess I can see already in these couple days how there’s a lot to be learned and a lot that I CAN learn from watching. So I’ve just gotta be patient and take advantage of any opportunity that I can to get better.”

It’s one of the biggest cliches of sports, that a bad situation can turn into something good, but the fact that it’s a a cliche isn’t stopping Brennan from embracing it. I asked him point blank if he thought there was a chance this injury and subsequent seemingly-lost season might work out to his benefit, and he looked at me like it was the most obvious question he’d ever heard.

“Hell yeah, man,” he said. “I can’t remember a situation in my life when something like this has happened that it HASN’T turned out to be something great. You know, so many negative things have happened in my life where I’ve just kind of kept my nose to the grindstone and just worked through it, and before I know it I’m sittin’ in a situation a couple of years later going, ‘Wow, could you imagine going from where I was to where I am now,’ and I hope this is the same exact thing. That’s just one more thing to work for, one more thing that’s kinda given me some enthusiasm, like, ‘Imagine the reward that could be waiting for you after this adversity you’re facing.’

*******

A few other notes from practice:

Everyone participated, and the only people on the injury report afterward were Carlos Rogers and Mike Williams, both of whom were listed as “limited in practice”.

Afterward, Coach Jim Zorn was asked if he thought this validated the level of intensity in his training camp, and he seemed pleased with the question. “Yes, I think it has,” he said. “Our injury report was minimal. Colt Brennan has his issue that he is dealing with [Ed. note: see preceding 800 words or whatever] and that is why he is on injured reserve. We have a few muscle pulls here and there but I think our guys legs are coming back and they’re bouncing around. Our tempo is looking pretty good. We just want to continue that now.”

And those of you who were concerned by yesterday’s report that the only wideouts working after practice were newly anointed #2 WR Malcolm Kelly and rookie Marko Mitchell can rest easy: Devin Thomas was there as well today.

A few quick notes from yesterday’s afternoon practice in shorts and shells:

• The strangest part of this first practice of the 2009 regular season was seeing Colt Brennan in sweats on the sideline while newly-signed Andre’ Woodson — standing tall and wearing number 2 — works out with the quarterbacks. Here’s Coach Zorn from the post-practice press conference above, talking about some of the reasons that Woodson is here: “We like his size, and I think he has a good presence. He has escape ability, which I saw as I watched him. It is necessary for this offense. I was impressed with his deep ball. We just have to work on some intermediate things and we will be all right.”

This is all true as far as it goes, but the commenter on this blog yesterday who mentioned Woodson’s long wind-up definitely has a point. It’s not present on every throw, but there were at least two or three in yesterday’s practice where the motion leading into the throw seemed to be a carefully orchestrated production. Coach Zorn tends to be pretty particular about QB mechanics, so I would expect to see that cleaned up sooner than not.

• One unquestionably good thing about practice: all of the previously injured players — Carlos Rogers and Albert Haynesworth, most notably — were back on the field and practicing, and Rogers even joined the team for the post-practice run. “I wanted to pull some of those guys out who have been working their way back,” Zorn said afterward. “[Rogers] wanted to run them all and he just cruised. Everybody ran and participated.”

• Not nearly as strange as the group of quarterbacks, but still a definite change from the preceding six weeks, was seeing only three specialists together on the far field. It’s been Ethan Albright, Hunter Smith, Shaun Suisham, and Dave Rayner for so long that it seemed weird not having Rayner there. Rayner was a funny, good guy, and I wish him the best.

• Malcolm Kelly 2009 was pretty critical of Malcolm Kelly 2008 during open locker room yesterday. “Last year,” he said, “getting ready to go into Week 1, I knew I wasn’t going to play, so my mind wasn’t really in it. I was just looking at film from the second meeting with the Giants last year, and I didn’t even look like myself because I was worried about my knee.”

I don’t know enough about Kelly 2009 to know if this what looking “like himself” looks like, but he still looks as strong as he has throughout the preseason, keeps catching balls away from his body with his hands, keeps running routes with that long stride, and keeps staying after practice — alongside Marko Mitchell — to work with Jason Campbell and Todd Collins. Kelly is the offensive player I most often found myself being impressed with this preseason, and he’s certainly working hard to keep that going into the regular season.

Still, though, I can’t help but wince every time he gets hit. I really hope that goes away eventually.

• And the team voted on this year’s captains. The group remains the same as in 2008 — Campbell and Chris Samuels for offense, London Fletcher and Cornelius Griffin for the defense, and Rock Cartwright for special teams — with Mike Sellers replacing the departed Khary Campbell for the last special teams slot.

“I think it’s outstanding,” Zorn said after practice. “Mike Sellers was a little foreign to leading the stretching” — one of the duties of a team captain — “but other than that I think he’ll be okay. I think he earned a lot of respect this past year with his performance. He wasn’t around because he had his deal in the offseason, but during training camp he worked hard. He was really vocal and showed his leadership. I think our players took that to heart and elected him captain.”

That’s one good thing. The other is that this switch may actually be enough to achieve the unlikely goal of making this year’s Captain’s Photo look even more menacing than 2008′s.