AFATT is... All Redskins All The Time
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Art Monk Finally Gets His Due
He will enter the Hall of Fame class of 2008
with Darrell Green
Joe Tarell February 3, 2008
For the last several years it seemed that
the Hall Of Fame selection committee
was desperately looking for reasons not
to include Art Monk. He had retired as
the all time leader in receptions, with the
longest streak of games with at least one
catch and played on three Super Bowl
championship teams. He is one of the
highest character people in the NFL and
while his yards-per-catch and touchdown
numbers are not as gaudy as some
would like, the fact is that he caught 940
passes.
Since Monk's retirement, Jerry Rice has
obviously put the career receptions,
yards, catch streak and touchdown
records out where they may not be
reached for a long, long time, but that
should not diminish what he
accomplished. The list of receivers in
the Hall with numbers that do not match
Monk's is long and includes people like
Michael Irvin and Lynn Swann who were
well below the productivity of Monk. It is
about time.
Darrell Green joins him along with Emmitt
Thomas, who coached both of these
players for awhile with the Redskins so
this should be a Redskin party in Canton.
Green was the ultimate small, speedy
cornerback during his days. He entered
the NFL's Fastest Man combination
several times and was never defeated.
Coming out of tiny Texas A&I, he was not
as highly regarded in the NFL Draft as
he should have been because of his size
and level of competition, but they failed
to measure his heart. Not only could he
outrun anybody in the NFL, he was tough
and had great hands, snaring 54
interceptions in his career. When Green
finally retired he was forty years old and
still running the forty yard dash in the
4.4's.
Also enshrined will be Andre Tippett,
Fred Dean and Gary Zimmerman. But
this is truly a great day for the Redskins.
Because Joe.Redskin and AFATT Says
So...
He will enter the Hall of Fame class of 2008
with Darrell Green
Joe Tarell February 3, 2008
For the last several years it seemed that
the Hall Of Fame selection committee
was desperately looking for reasons not
to include Art Monk. He had retired as
the all time leader in receptions, with the
longest streak of games with at least one
catch and played on three Super Bowl
championship teams. He is one of the
highest character people in the NFL and
while his yards-per-catch and touchdown
numbers are not as gaudy as some
would like, the fact is that he caught 940
passes.
Since Monk's retirement, Jerry Rice has
obviously put the career receptions,
yards, catch streak and touchdown
records out where they may not be
reached for a long, long time, but that
should not diminish what he
accomplished. The list of receivers in
the Hall with numbers that do not match
Monk's is long and includes people like
Michael Irvin and Lynn Swann who were
well below the productivity of Monk. It is
about time.
Darrell Green joins him along with Emmitt
Thomas, who coached both of these
players for awhile with the Redskins so
this should be a Redskin party in Canton.
Green was the ultimate small, speedy
cornerback during his days. He entered
the NFL's Fastest Man combination
several times and was never defeated.
Coming out of tiny Texas A&I, he was not
as highly regarded in the NFL Draft as
he should have been because of his size
and level of competition, but they failed
to measure his heart. Not only could he
outrun anybody in the NFL, he was tough
and had great hands, snaring 54
interceptions in his career. When Green
finally retired he was forty years old and
still running the forty yard dash in the
4.4's.
Also enshrined will be Andre Tippett,
Fred Dean and Gary Zimmerman. But
this is truly a great day for the Redskins.
Because Joe.Redskin and AFATT Says
So...
Redskins Need Jim Zorn to
Establish Leadership
Joe Tarell, February 20, 2008
It is difficult to judge how this coaching
search went and how comfortable I am with
the hiring of Jim Zorn. The 2008 NFL Draft
is coming quick and this staff seems thrown
together. Not only is the NFL Draft going to
be important for this team but with them
over the salary cap they have issues that
the front office needs clear up. I guess for
Zorn the issue is team chemistry and how
they adjust to another change in leadership
and leave the draft to Cerrato.
Jim Zorn has worked in the shadows his
whole career. He came up with Seattle as an
expansion team so there was little pressure
and playing in Seattle you are far from the
media hot bed of the east coast. As a
coach he has never had much authority,
never called the plays and lived in the
shadow of Mike Holmgren. Because
Holmgren is from the Bill Walsh coaching
tree, mentored Brett Favre and is
considered a great offensive mind, there is
not much that Zorn can claim as his own
from his time coaching in Seattle. He will
need to establish himself quickly in
Washington because this is a veteran team
with some questionable player leadership.
Let me just spell out the leadership situation
as I see it. The leader of the offensive line
is Jon Jansen. Even though Samuels is
supposed to be the better player, Jansen is
the guy. Jason Campbell has not been able
to take control and that creates a void of
leadership. Clinton Portis and Santana
Moss have been the ones to fill this void
and this is trouble. Nothing against these
guys, but RB and WR are not good
leadership positions for your football team.
They need too much help from others to be
effective and they can send mixed signals
when there are issues because in order to
take control, they must get the ball... even
when the game dictates otherwise.
Jason Campbell really needs to step up this
off season and put his stamp on this team
otherwise the coaching staff is in trouble.
The defensive leadership should be in good
hands with London Fletcher now that he has
a year under his belt in Washington. If the
players buy in to the new system and the
leadership falls correctly there is plenty of
talent on this football team. As the 2008
NFL Draft draws closer we will get more
focused on team needs with regards to
players and position. For now, they need to
focus on leadership and get their salary cap
in order.
Joe.Redskin and AFATT Says So...
Establish Leadership
Joe Tarell, February 20, 2008
It is difficult to judge how this coaching
search went and how comfortable I am with
the hiring of Jim Zorn. The 2008 NFL Draft
is coming quick and this staff seems thrown
together. Not only is the NFL Draft going to
be important for this team but with them
over the salary cap they have issues that
the front office needs clear up. I guess for
Zorn the issue is team chemistry and how
they adjust to another change in leadership
and leave the draft to Cerrato.
Jim Zorn has worked in the shadows his
whole career. He came up with Seattle as an
expansion team so there was little pressure
and playing in Seattle you are far from the
media hot bed of the east coast. As a
coach he has never had much authority,
never called the plays and lived in the
shadow of Mike Holmgren. Because
Holmgren is from the Bill Walsh coaching
tree, mentored Brett Favre and is
considered a great offensive mind, there is
not much that Zorn can claim as his own
from his time coaching in Seattle. He will
need to establish himself quickly in
Washington because this is a veteran team
with some questionable player leadership.
Let me just spell out the leadership situation
as I see it. The leader of the offensive line
is Jon Jansen. Even though Samuels is
supposed to be the better player, Jansen is
the guy. Jason Campbell has not been able
to take control and that creates a void of
leadership. Clinton Portis and Santana
Moss have been the ones to fill this void
and this is trouble. Nothing against these
guys, but RB and WR are not good
leadership positions for your football team.
They need too much help from others to be
effective and they can send mixed signals
when there are issues because in order to
take control, they must get the ball... even
when the game dictates otherwise.
Jason Campbell really needs to step up this
off season and put his stamp on this team
otherwise the coaching staff is in trouble.
The defensive leadership should be in good
hands with London Fletcher now that he has
a year under his belt in Washington. If the
players buy in to the new system and the
leadership falls correctly there is plenty of
talent on this football team. As the 2008
NFL Draft draws closer we will get more
focused on team needs with regards to
players and position. For now, they need to
focus on leadership and get their salary cap
in order.
Joe.Redskin and AFATT Says So...
2008 Redskins Forecast
Joe Tarell, September 4, 2008
It is always sunny when training camp opens,
with clear skies looming on the horizon. In
2007 the sunny weather was replaced quickly
by a string of injuries that left it dark and
gloomy right up to the death of Sean Taylor
(who was injured at the time or would not have
even been in the house to get killed). From
that point the Redskins turned their gloom
loose on their opponents. Will 2008 turn out
differently? Most prognosticators will tell you
they definitely see a different result for this
year, but probably not the one the Redskin
fans want to see it.
Is a longer playoff run in the cards this year or
a drop to the bottom of the division?
Remember in the hyper-competitive NFC East,
two games separated the eventual Super Bowl
champs from last place so you don’t have to
slip much or climb much to see a huge change
of fortunes. With the Giants and Eli now
boasting confidence to go with their talent and
the Cowboys adding still more volatile, but
talented players this off season, the Redskins
and the Eagles would seem to be slugging it
out for last place. And since the Eagles are
not breaking in a rookie head coach with no
coordinator experience, they are the easy the
choice for many to challenge Dallas and New
York.
So fourth place in the division is the
expectation going in even though the
Redskins return 21 of 22 starters from a
playoff team and the one loss is Sean Taylor,
who was gone for the final eight games last
year. Let’s review why that prediction makes
sense. Jim Zorn has never even called plays
in an NFL game let alone been a head coach.
Greg Williams is gone as defensive
coordinator as well. Jason Campbell is widely
viewed as the fourth best QB in the division
and is still unproven going into his fourth
season and this team’s ability to score
touchdowns is a major stumbling block. There
is no “rally for Sean” momentum to carry this
team. The defense is old and lacks
playmakers. The offensive line is old and
there does not seem to be a "nasty" attitude.
For balance, why not review the positives that
make this a team that can be a playoff force
this year. Jason Taylor is a key acquisition to
bolster a weak pass rush that was really the
only weakness on this defense last year.
Injuries last year hit the offensive line and the
cornerbacks in waves so that third and fourth
stringers were starting. If those can be
avoided, the depth and talent upgrades
considerably. The running game is one of the
best in the NFL with two dynamic runners and
a veteran offensive line that now also has
depth thanks to the injuries last year giving
plenty of playing time to the back-ups. The
receiving corps should be greatly improved
with the three rookie second round picks.
Greg Blache is a returning coach going from
the defensive line to the coordinator position
so the defensive scheme is not changing and
the players like and respect him as a coach.
Now let’s take those negative and see if there
is an answer for each of them. Jim Zorn is
going to be questioned right up until they start
winning. He has never dealt with a 2 minute
drill, never made hard decisions about players
that he may like, but need to be replaced,
never tried to rally a team after a poor start.
There are indications that he was a good
choice and will be a good head coach based
on how he has prepared this off-season and
the way training camp has gone, but only time
will really answer that one. Greg Williams will
not be missed as much as people think. He
had a good scheme, but players were getting
a little tired of his voice as they do many times
in the NFL. The scheme is still in place, with
fresh voices and ideas, so this seemed to be a
minimal concern unless Blache can’t call
defenses or build effective game plans, and
again, only time will answer that question.
Let’s talk about Jason Campbell and the
offense together. The new wide receivers and
the new scheme should eliminate the
touchdown scoring issue. Joe Gibbs was way
too conservative in the red zone and because
of the small receivers, the only go-to-guy was
Chris Cooley, who was too easy to cover as
the only real threat. Malcolm Kelly, Devin
Thomas and Fred Davis are big targets that
can score. The West Coast offense also uses
the pass to set up the run more than Gibbs
and Saunders were willing to do so the
running game should not suffer, though
Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts will need to be
both more patient and more explosive when
they get their chances. An experienced,
healthy offensive line will also help this issue.
Now, will all this make Jason Campbell a better
QB? I believe it will, but again, only time will
tell. He had a great season his last year at
Auburn running the West Coast system and
he has taken the coaching of Zorn very well.
His release his quicker, his tempo is faster and
he understand the value of accuracy. He
does not seem to get rattled in pressure
situations and his teammates believe in him,
so the makings are there for a very good
quarterback. He seems brittle so he must
avoid injury and get over the tendency that
many strong-armed quarterbacks have to try
and fit balls where they should not be thrown.
If he does those things and lets the talent
around him do their jobs, they can be a really
good offense.
I guess it is now time to give you my
prediction. The Redskins will be competitive
in every game and will surprise some people.
I also believe that the Giants and Cowboys will
falter. The Eagles are the team that scares
me the most. This division is going to be
another slugfest, but the Redskins will need
some luck to finish in the playoffs. The culprit
is the line, offensive and defensive. Neither
has the motor and attitude to control a game
and that makes it difficult to be a consistent
winner. 8-8 looks like the end result.
... because AFATT Says So!
Joe Tarell, September 4, 2008
It is always sunny when training camp opens,
with clear skies looming on the horizon. In
2007 the sunny weather was replaced quickly
by a string of injuries that left it dark and
gloomy right up to the death of Sean Taylor
(who was injured at the time or would not have
even been in the house to get killed). From
that point the Redskins turned their gloom
loose on their opponents. Will 2008 turn out
differently? Most prognosticators will tell you
they definitely see a different result for this
year, but probably not the one the Redskin
fans want to see it.
Is a longer playoff run in the cards this year or
a drop to the bottom of the division?
Remember in the hyper-competitive NFC East,
two games separated the eventual Super Bowl
champs from last place so you don’t have to
slip much or climb much to see a huge change
of fortunes. With the Giants and Eli now
boasting confidence to go with their talent and
the Cowboys adding still more volatile, but
talented players this off season, the Redskins
and the Eagles would seem to be slugging it
out for last place. And since the Eagles are
not breaking in a rookie head coach with no
coordinator experience, they are the easy the
choice for many to challenge Dallas and New
York.
So fourth place in the division is the
expectation going in even though the
Redskins return 21 of 22 starters from a
playoff team and the one loss is Sean Taylor,
who was gone for the final eight games last
year. Let’s review why that prediction makes
sense. Jim Zorn has never even called plays
in an NFL game let alone been a head coach.
Greg Williams is gone as defensive
coordinator as well. Jason Campbell is widely
viewed as the fourth best QB in the division
and is still unproven going into his fourth
season and this team’s ability to score
touchdowns is a major stumbling block. There
is no “rally for Sean” momentum to carry this
team. The defense is old and lacks
playmakers. The offensive line is old and
there does not seem to be a "nasty" attitude.
For balance, why not review the positives that
make this a team that can be a playoff force
this year. Jason Taylor is a key acquisition to
bolster a weak pass rush that was really the
only weakness on this defense last year.
Injuries last year hit the offensive line and the
cornerbacks in waves so that third and fourth
stringers were starting. If those can be
avoided, the depth and talent upgrades
considerably. The running game is one of the
best in the NFL with two dynamic runners and
a veteran offensive line that now also has
depth thanks to the injuries last year giving
plenty of playing time to the back-ups. The
receiving corps should be greatly improved
with the three rookie second round picks.
Greg Blache is a returning coach going from
the defensive line to the coordinator position
so the defensive scheme is not changing and
the players like and respect him as a coach.
Now let’s take those negative and see if there
is an answer for each of them. Jim Zorn is
going to be questioned right up until they start
winning. He has never dealt with a 2 minute
drill, never made hard decisions about players
that he may like, but need to be replaced,
never tried to rally a team after a poor start.
There are indications that he was a good
choice and will be a good head coach based
on how he has prepared this off-season and
the way training camp has gone, but only time
will really answer that one. Greg Williams will
not be missed as much as people think. He
had a good scheme, but players were getting
a little tired of his voice as they do many times
in the NFL. The scheme is still in place, with
fresh voices and ideas, so this seemed to be a
minimal concern unless Blache can’t call
defenses or build effective game plans, and
again, only time will answer that question.
Let’s talk about Jason Campbell and the
offense together. The new wide receivers and
the new scheme should eliminate the
touchdown scoring issue. Joe Gibbs was way
too conservative in the red zone and because
of the small receivers, the only go-to-guy was
Chris Cooley, who was too easy to cover as
the only real threat. Malcolm Kelly, Devin
Thomas and Fred Davis are big targets that
can score. The West Coast offense also uses
the pass to set up the run more than Gibbs
and Saunders were willing to do so the
running game should not suffer, though
Clinton Portis and Ladell Betts will need to be
both more patient and more explosive when
they get their chances. An experienced,
healthy offensive line will also help this issue.
Now, will all this make Jason Campbell a better
QB? I believe it will, but again, only time will
tell. He had a great season his last year at
Auburn running the West Coast system and
he has taken the coaching of Zorn very well.
His release his quicker, his tempo is faster and
he understand the value of accuracy. He
does not seem to get rattled in pressure
situations and his teammates believe in him,
so the makings are there for a very good
quarterback. He seems brittle so he must
avoid injury and get over the tendency that
many strong-armed quarterbacks have to try
and fit balls where they should not be thrown.
If he does those things and lets the talent
around him do their jobs, they can be a really
good offense.
I guess it is now time to give you my
prediction. The Redskins will be competitive
in every game and will surprise some people.
I also believe that the Giants and Cowboys will
falter. The Eagles are the team that scares
me the most. This division is going to be
another slugfest, but the Redskins will need
some luck to finish in the playoffs. The culprit
is the line, offensive and defensive. Neither
has the motor and attitude to control a game
and that makes it difficult to be a consistent
winner. 8-8 looks like the end result.
... because AFATT Says So!
2008 Redskins Draft Review
Joe Tarell, September 2, 2008
The Redskins 2008 season kicks off on
Thursday and the real evaluation of the
draft begins. Right now it looks like the
Bustometer is getting revved up for
Malcolm Kelly and possibly for Devin
Thomas. Kelly is hurt and is one of only
three players to fail the conditioning test
at the start of training camp. Anybody
else think the two go hand-in-hand?
Thomas was supposed to be a return
threat and he has looked very mediocre
in preseason while also nursing an
injured hamstring. Neither is ready to
help at WR as the season opens.
Kelly scared us at AFATT from the
beginning of the draft evaluation process.
The hope was that slipping nearly 30
spots in the draft would humble him and
get him to work a little harder, but the
early returns do not show that. His knee
injury followed a hamstring and now the
only reason he is on the roster is
because he was a second round pick.
Players that performed better in
preseason like Anthony Mix and Billy
McMullen were cut in favor of the draft
picks that not only performed poorly, but
also may end up not playing because of
injuries. This leaves the Redskins very
thin at WR as they open the season.
Durant Brooks, the punter taken in the
sixth round made the team and Derrick
Frost was cut. Many observers believe
Frost won the contest on the field. In fact,
Frost accused Vinny Cerrato of pushing
for Brooks in order to make his draft class
look better. All of the draft picks made
the team and that does make one
wonder. Justin Tryon looked pretty lost in
the secondary, Kelly was clearly not kept
based on his on-field performance and
really only Chris Horton, the safety and
Fred Davis played their way onto the
team with their performance in games.
Chad Rinehart, the third round OL is a
project and Rob Jackson and Kareem
Moore will not see the field.
Colt Brennan, who will not see the field in
'08, turned in perhaps the best rookie
performance. He played most of the
preseason and got some valuable
experience as the team was reluctant to
expose Jason Campbell to injury and did
not see the need to play the veteran
Todd Collins in these games. He will get
criticized for his throwing motion as long
as he is playing in the league but he gets
the ball out quickly and accurately and he
does not seem to get rattled.
Bottom line is that Davis and Horton will
need to help with situational and on
special teams, the two WR's may help in
the second half of the season
... because AFATT Says So!
Joe Tarell, September 2, 2008
The Redskins 2008 season kicks off on
Thursday and the real evaluation of the
draft begins. Right now it looks like the
Bustometer is getting revved up for
Malcolm Kelly and possibly for Devin
Thomas. Kelly is hurt and is one of only
three players to fail the conditioning test
at the start of training camp. Anybody
else think the two go hand-in-hand?
Thomas was supposed to be a return
threat and he has looked very mediocre
in preseason while also nursing an
injured hamstring. Neither is ready to
help at WR as the season opens.
Kelly scared us at AFATT from the
beginning of the draft evaluation process.
The hope was that slipping nearly 30
spots in the draft would humble him and
get him to work a little harder, but the
early returns do not show that. His knee
injury followed a hamstring and now the
only reason he is on the roster is
because he was a second round pick.
Players that performed better in
preseason like Anthony Mix and Billy
McMullen were cut in favor of the draft
picks that not only performed poorly, but
also may end up not playing because of
injuries. This leaves the Redskins very
thin at WR as they open the season.
Durant Brooks, the punter taken in the
sixth round made the team and Derrick
Frost was cut. Many observers believe
Frost won the contest on the field. In fact,
Frost accused Vinny Cerrato of pushing
for Brooks in order to make his draft class
look better. All of the draft picks made
the team and that does make one
wonder. Justin Tryon looked pretty lost in
the secondary, Kelly was clearly not kept
based on his on-field performance and
really only Chris Horton, the safety and
Fred Davis played their way onto the
team with their performance in games.
Chad Rinehart, the third round OL is a
project and Rob Jackson and Kareem
Moore will not see the field.
Colt Brennan, who will not see the field in
'08, turned in perhaps the best rookie
performance. He played most of the
preseason and got some valuable
experience as the team was reluctant to
expose Jason Campbell to injury and did
not see the need to play the veteran
Todd Collins in these games. He will get
criticized for his throwing motion as long
as he is playing in the league but he gets
the ball out quickly and accurately and he
does not seem to get rattled.
Bottom line is that Davis and Horton will
need to help with situational and on
special teams, the two WR's may help in
the second half of the season
... because AFATT Says So!