The Redskins Blog

Redskins Embody ‘Team, Effort, Tradition.’

On January 5, 2010, head coach Mike Shanahan was formally introduced as the Redskins head coach. From 2010-present, coach Shanahan and the front office have completely revamped the team.

There are 60 new faces out of the 70 players currently listed on the roster, excluding last year’s the practice squad. Here’s a breakdown of the how the current team was built since coach Shanahan’s hire in 2010: Free Agency (37), Draft Picks (21), and Trades (2).

The roster changes, however, should not be viewed necessarily as a rebuilding effort, yet instead viewed as part of a bigger evaluation process in an attempt to build a team consisting of humble, hardworking, character guys.

Read more »

Gibbs Tabbed Tenth Best Football Coach

He led the Washington Redskins to three Super Bowl titles and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, so it might come as no surprise that Joe Gibbs was recently ranked by one organization as one of the top football coaches of all time.

FootballNation.com last week ranked Gibbs at No. 10.

Read more »

‘Raising Hope’ To Be A Redskins Fan

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Last Tuesday evening was part one of the two-part season finale of FOX’s hit comedy Raising Hope, entitled “Inside Probe.”  In the episode, they detail the unique storyline behind how baby Hope was brought into the world.  I won’t get into the details, but it’s a fairly strange episode, complete with an investigative report by Nancy Grace.

The noteworthy part of the show for Redskins fans was the T-shirt belonging to Burt Chance (Hope’s grandfather), which said “Washington Redskins” with a faded throwback ‘R.’  That ‘R’ was instituted as the Redskins emblem under Vince Lombardi, but lasted only two seasons as the official emblem, from 1971-72.

Very cool to see on primetime television, especially during the offseason:

Read more »

First Quarter First Impressions

AP Image

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.

Hail To The Redskins Walk: Part 4

Despite being a straight-laced professional, I confess that I’ve really enjoyed going down to the locker room every day over the last week to inspect each panel on the new Redskins wall.  Considering I’ve only been around for about a quarter of the Redskins existence, this is a really interactive way to feel the Redskins illustrious past.

Today, we rewind back to the 1960s, when the man named ‘Lombardi,’ strutted the sidelines of DC Stadium in his trench coat and fedora.

The Redskins kicked off the decade by integrating and adding Bobby Mitchell at flanker in exchange for Ernie Davis.  Mitchell went on be a star in Washington over most of the decade, and later earned his rightful spot in the Hall of Fame.  In 1964, the team added another superstar via trade, bringing Sonny Jurgensen to Washington in exchange for Norm Snead.

Jurgensen was one of the greatest to ever don the Burgundy and Gold, and brought excitement back to the gridiron in the Nation’s Capital.  Together with linebacker Sam Huff and receiver Charley Taylor, the team built a strong foundation for a push in the 1970s.  Owner George Preston Marshall ended the decade by pulling a coup, and hiring a living legend in Vince Lombardi to come coach the team.

Here’s a look at the 1960′s section of the H.T.T.R. Walk:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

1930s * 1940s * 1950s

Read more »

Vince Lombardi Is In the Building

The man who looks strikingly like former Redskins head coach Vince Lombardi is in the building for tonight’s ESPN “Monday Night Football” coverage.

That trench coat (especially in the 80 degree heat) was unmistakable from afar.

Here’s his pump-up video from before the playoffs last year.  It’s oddly fitting for tonight, given that I think “it’s ready for”the Redskins too: Read more »

Brothers Of The Legacy, Part 4

Vince Lombardi’s tenure with the Redskins was too short by any measure, but especially so if you ask Sonny Jurgensen. He says as much in this installment of Brothers Of The Legacy, he says it when asked about the Broadway show Lombardi … it’s something Jurgensen clearly feels. Lombardi, he always says, made the game simple for him — and the statistics show it. Under Lombardi, Jurgensen had one of his best seasons as a pro, completing 62 percent of his passes for 3,102 yards in just 14 games — the last time in his career that he would break the 3,000 yard plateau.

And that’s what this fourth installment of the documentary covers: not just Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff, but the coach who reignited both their careers: Vince Lombardi. (On a less somber, meaningful note, you get to see Jurgensen doing drills while wearing an old-school Curly W Washington Senators cap — there’s a screencapture after the jump.)

Previous episodes: 1 • 2 • 3 Read more »