The Redskins Blog

Throwback Thursday: DT Dean Hamel

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Throwback Thursday focuses on a former Redskins player–heralded or otherwise–that made an impact on his burgundy and gold squad. This week, we look at Dean Hamel, a Redskins defensive tackle from 1985-1988. Here is a snapshot of his career:

On a December 1st afternoon in 1985 Joe Montana and the defending Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers rolled into Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium to take on the Washington Redskins.

In the second quarter, Redskins’ rookie defensive tackle Dean Hamel made a career higlighting play. Backed up in his own end zone, 49ers quarterback Joe Montana dropped back looking to pass down field.

Battling in the trenches, Hamel found himself with no offensive lineman in front of him and a clear path to the quarterback. Hamel sprinted towards Montana, and dove at him, going for the sack.

Montana, reacting to Hamel, threw the ball away and was flagged for intentional grounding.  The Redskins were awarded a safety, making the score 7-5 San Francisco. Unfortunately for the Redskins, they would only score another field goal that day and fall to the 49ers 35-8.

The loss was just Hamel’s fourth career game in the National Football League. He finished his rookie season having started in the Redskins’ final eight games, racking up 67 tackles and six sacks.

A defensive tackle from the University of Tulsa, Hamel was drafted 309th overall in the 12th round of the 1985 draft.

He went on to play for the Redskins for three more years, until he was traded after the 1988 season to the Dallas Cowboys.

Throughout his four seasons as a member of the burgundy and gold, Hamel tallied 12.5 sacks.

Hamel was a member of the Redskins 1987 Super Bowl Championship team that defeated the Denver Broncos 42-10.

After being traded to the Dallas Cowboys, Hamel played for three more seasons in Dallas before injuries forced him into early retirement.

.

.

.

Is AFC East Key To NFC Championship?

Happy belated birthday to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who would have been 86 on Jan. 15 (his actual birthday), and a Happy Inauguration Day to all. Regardless of your political persuasion, everyone can enjoy a balmy Monday off of work in the middle of January.

Unless, of course, you’re working today, in which case thank you for choosing to procrastinate with the Redskins.

Yesterday’s playoff football action determined that the Baltimore Ravens will face the San Francisco 49ers on Super Bowl Sunday in two weeks.

Even if you don’t give two hoots about the matchup, there are many heart-stopping appetizers and hilarious commercials to be watched that day, so there is something for everyone.

To find out how the Redskins’ player predictions and a weird statistical anomaly played out, check the link below: Read more »

Alexander Plays NFL Expert, Convincingly

Lorenzo Alexander is one of the few Redskins players to ever win the Media Good Guy award multiple years, and did so in both 2011 and 2012. Alexander has a well-deserved reputation for offering honest, thoughtful insight into his life and his role with the Washington Redskins.

So it should come as no surprise that the “One Man Gang” can handle himself comfortably on camera, providing CSN Washington with a player’s perspective in the lead-up to this weekend’s NFL Championship action.

Alexander has the benefit of having played each of the four remaining teams at home in the last two seasons, with the San Francisco 49ers and New England Patriots in 2011 and the Baltimore Ravens and Atlanta Falcons in 2012.

He speaks with the poise and confidence of a veteran newscaster, and has a second career in sports if he so chooses.

Hear what he had to say, below: Read more »

Fletcher Predicts Pats-49ers Super Bowl

(Photo by Brian Murphy // ExtremeSkins.com)

On Thursday, star linebacker London Fletcher was a guest on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” on ESPN Radio.

Fletcher spoke with Cowherd about his thoughts on the four remaining teams left in the playoffs: the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, and San Francisco 49ers.

Fletcher has some “inside” knowledge on all four contenders. The Redskins played the Falcons and Ravens this year as well as the Patriots and 49ers last year.

Find out what London had to say about each team here (via ESPN Radio):

Read more »

Josh Morgan And The Harlem Globetrotters

via sanfrancisco49ers

Thanks to the fine folks at San Francisco 49ers TV, we have old footage of new Redskins receiver Joshua Morgan playing basketball with the Harlem Globetrotters.

The drill is called “football,” so who better to participate than a football star who used to play basketball?

“I’m gonna bring back what I used to do back in the day,” he tells the reporter.  ”Do a little somthing.”

A little something like this: Read more »

NFL Bracketology: Ranking Best Teams

AP Image

In a month known for its inherent madness, the rest of the world has invented brackets to determine what is the “Best ____ Ever.”

Count the NFL as no exception, as they attempt to determine the greatest teams of all time, focusing largely on the Super Bowl winners.

Of course, teams like the ’98 Vikings (previously the greatest statistical offense of all time) and the ’07 Patriots (currently the greatest statistical offense of all time) are also included on the list, for those of you who don’t value Lombardi’s.

The contest is set up as a bracket, and fans are asked to pair down the pool of 64 to 32, 16, eight, four, two, and the eventual winner.  The contest continues through the month of March.

You can vote for the first round right here, which happens to feature four of the greatest Redskins teams.  Here’s the rundown of those matchups: Read more »

Fourth Quarter Reflections

AP Image

Perhaps the answer to today’s loss can be found many moons ago in the Week 5 loss to the Eagles.

As you’ll recall, the Redskins were flying high out of the bye week, while the Eagles were on life support, traveling on the road to battle the healthy Redskins.

Five injured starters and 60 minutes later, nose tackle Barry Cofield was asked whether it was just one tally in the loss column or an indicator of future performance.  The conclusion that he came to at the time, was, “Well, we’ll just have to see.”

After today’s game, his answer sounds more ominous than optimistic.

The Redskins ended up with decent numbers, but stats don’t feel very good after today’s loss.

Cofield talked after the game again today, and revisited his words from Week 5.

“It’s hard to look back,” he said.  ”Any losing streak, it can creep into the locker room and create negativity.  Honestly at this point, I feel like you do have to break the bad momentum.  At this point, when you’ve lost this many games in a row, a win is big.  It’s not about just that day.  A win can change the entire outlook on the season.”

At this point, that’s exactly what this team needs.  After starting out 3-1 in the first quarter of the season, the Redskins have dropped each of their last four games to round out the first half at 3-5.  Next up, the Redskins are staring down a Miami Dolphins that drubbed the Chiefs to the tune of 31-3, today.

After the game, Cofield articulated the only way that the team was going to beat the streak on the road.

“We can’t let it be a snowball effect, and we can’t let the negativity creep in,” he said.  ”You have to make sure that when you take that field every day, that you have the best intentions.  You wanna go out there and win, and you realize that one win in this league can change a lot.”

“Once we get a win, we can finally exhale a sigh of relief.”

And the citizens of Redskins Nation feel the same pain.  At this point, the optimism of the preseason seems like a very long time ago.

Just how much difference did Chris Cooley, Santana Moss, Tim Hightower and Kory Lichtensteiger make?  There’s a difference between causality and coincidence, but the Redskins haven’t won since they departed.  Whether it’s production or leadership, the team just hasn’t produced since they left.

But there isn’t a single player in the locker room, willing to use that excuse.

“You’ve gotta win,” Cofield concluded.  ”One win can cure a lot.  One win may not get you to the top of the division, but it can bring some good feeling into the locker room.  We just need one win.”

One win beats the streak.

So long from FedExField, with the Redskins falling in a tough one: Washington 11, San Francisco 19.

Third Quarter Thoughts

The headline for this post might be a little misleading, as there isn’t much to think about after the third quarter.

At this point, it’s a battle against the clock, as much as it is against the 49ers.  The Redskins need a spark on offense, and they need to stop Frank Gore on defense.

The Redskins defense did a good job at keeping the 49ers at bay, and have done so for the entire game.  The only touchdown that they have allowed came on an offensive turnover near the red zone.  Other than that, they’ve held the 49ers to three field goals of 34, 45, and 52 yards.  Unfortunately, kicker David Akers has delivered.

No matter how many times the Redskins offense appears to be on the verge of building some momentum, a key drop, penalty, or turnover seems to derail them.  It’s difficult to say what the problem is, but the 49ers defense is stifling the Redskins offense in the second half, and it’s come from all directions.  There is a sense of frustration that’s visible on the field, and the Redskins need big plays to shake the funk.

The Redskins need a turnover on defense or huge play on offense to get back, in this in the final frame.  This game isn’t over yet, but it’s a race against time for the Burgundy and Gold.

San Francisco adds three to go up 16-3 with the final quarter to play.

Second Quarter Non Sequiturs

AP Imag

If the Redskins had been able to end the half at the 2-minute warning, it would be a much happier feeling in the locker room at halftime

Through the first 28 minutes of the first half, the Redskins have found a rhythm that fans haven’t seen since the first half of the Rams game, over a month ago.

From committing to the run, to improved coverage in the secondary, the Redskins did a lot of things right in the first half.  Here’s the highlights:

On offense: The Redskins are running the football with good success.  Roy Helu is a dual threat out of the backfield, and has taken the pressure off of John Beck to spark the offense.  In the first half, Helu has nine rushes for 40 yards, and an additional 30 through the air.  This makes him the team’s leading rusher and receiver.

Offensive guard Maurice Hurt has handled his assignment as starting left guard, holding 49ers defensive end Justin Smith at bay so far.  The entire line is back in a better rhythm after the return of left tackle Trent Williams.

On defense: Despite missing free safety Oshiomogho Atogwe, the secondary is holding up much better this week, holding Alex Smith to seven-for-12 for 88 yards and a touchdown.  The Redskins are getting pressure on Smith and forcing him out of the pocket, because they aren’t allowing the receivers to get open.  The pressure has only hit home once so far on the Ryan Kerrigan sack, but they’ve kept the 49ers passing game quiet, for the most part.

The 49ers were held without a third down conversion for the whole first half, with the 49ers missing on six opportunities.  Running back Frank Gore has seven rushes for 65 yards in the first half, but the defense has held him without a game-changing run.

On special teams: Punter Sav Rocca continues to amaze in the battle for field position, dropping another punt inside the 20, zero touchbacks, and a 47.5-yard average.  Some players have ups and downs, but Rocca has yet to disappoint in Washington.

Standing on the Redskins emblem at midfield, kicker Graham Gano absolutely crushed a 59-yard field goal to end the first half.  That’s the longest of his career by nine yards, and he’s put up the only Redskins points  of the day.  There are some that disagree with his post-kick point to the sky, but he can do hand springs and River dance after that boot.  I’m sure that even Rocca was impressed.

That was, of course, the good of the first half, but the Redskins have to play mistake-free football in the second half.  They’re winning the time of possession battle by about 40 seconds, but they need to win the turnover battle today as well.

The second half from Washington up next; 49ers on top, 13-3.

First Quarter: Freshman Report

AP Image

Freshman! Freshman! Freshman!

The Redskins are starting three rookies on offense today–two for the first time–and none taken before the third round of April’s NFL Draft.  Receiver Leonard Hankerson will get his second consecutive start, after going inactive in the first six weeks.  Roy Helu will get a chance to jump start the Redskins running game, and Maurice Hurt will try his hand at left guard.

Hurt is the second seventh-round rookie to play this year (Chris Neild being the first), and one of three that are active for today’s game (Brandyn Thompson).  Last year’s seventh-rounder, receiver Terrence Austin has already worked his way into the offense.

On the first play from scrimmage, Helu made the most of his first NFL start and cut it up field for a 16-yard gain.  This is the second-longest run of his career, and he was one man away from breaking it the distance.

But it was another rookie, linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, that stole the show on the team’s first defensive stand.  On third-and-six from the San Fran 46-yard line, 49ers quarterback Alex Smith rolled out of the pocket and stared down linebacker Rocky McIntosh.  He never saw Kerrigan break free from his blockers, run completely across the field, and whisper sweet nothings in Smith’s earhole.

And then he hit him as hard as you’re legally allowed to hit an NFL quarterback, for a sack.  This is the third sack of his career, and his first since the St. Louis game on October 2.

Hankerson got involved at the end of the first quarter, catching a pass over the middle for a first down.  It wasn’t a clean catch, but he stuck with the play, and had the time to secure the pass before contact.  This is his second reception and second first down of his career.

The youngin’s are on a roll after the first quarter, with the game going back and forth early.  All’s quiet on the scoreboard, as the Redskins and 49ers are locked at zero after 15 minutes.