Redskins Round Table: Dan Steinberg, John Keim, and others join our Redskins Panel

Well,  we try and bring you as much weekly Redskins content we possibly can, while covering the other DC Sports franchises.  We now add a BRAND NEW weekly feature called the Redskins Round Table.  The Round Table will feature 3 to 5 questions, but could be only 1 question for the week if there is a super hot topic.  Of course, this week, there is a super hot topic, which is, should Jim Zorn be fired now or during the season.    

Redskins Round Table Introductions:

Our View:  We here at DC Pro Sports Report give our view on the questions submitted to the round table.   

Dan Steinberg, Washington Post:  Steinberg has one of the most popular sports blog on the Internet.  DC Sports Bog brings us hilarious and creative content, right up front in the face of DC Sports, on the Redskins, Wizards, Nationals, and Caps.  Steinberg has been a frequent guest of DC Pro Sports Report and we greatly appreciate his participation.  We assume no introduction to DC Sports Bog is needed.  If you haven’t heard of it, we would be more than happy to help pull your head out of your _ _ s.

John Keim, DC Examiner, Redskins Confidential:  Keim is one of the very best Redskins beat reporters out there, hands down.  His articles are intuitive, insightful, and he works the beat hard.  Link over to Redskins Confidential if you never have before and we promise you will bookmark it.  Keim brings you his insight and the very latest Redskins news up to the minute. 

John Jeffries (aka Boone) BGObsession.com.  John is the owner of BGObsession.com.  In case you haven’t noticed, by glancing at our panel, we are pretty big fans of BGO.  You will be too when you click over and give a good read to the BGO boards.  John is a straight up guy and tells you like it is.   

John Pappas, Warpath Confidential:  Warpath Confidential is a high quality, Redskins concentrated website complete with official Warpath Confidential magazine.  You can check out subscription prices here for online access, print magazine sent directly to your home, or both!  Great stuff, great content, and it is for die hard fans who need all Redskins, all the time.  John Pappas is also an Editor of Warpath Confidential and former Editor of Extremeskins.com. 

Rich Tandler, Real Redskins, Tandler is an Editor at BGO and blogger of his own Blog, Real Redskins.  Tandler’s Redskins connection goes way beyond that.  He is also a very well noted Redskins historian and author of Redskins history books.  Redskins A to Z was published in 2002 and you can order his latest, Redskins Chronicles, by clicking HERE.  Tandler is also an Editor for Warpath Confidential magazine.  We appreciate Rich’s participation.    

Al (aka Walking Deadman) from BGObsession.com and Walking Deadman Blog:  Al is a die hard, dedicated Redskins fan, great BGO poster, and a fellow blogger.  His insight into the Redskins is valued and we appreciate his participation here with us on the round table.  His quality posting at BGObession.com led us to believe he would be a great addition to the discussion.  Visit Al’s Walking Deadman Blog.

Sarge:  How many of you do not know Sarge?  Sarge was one of the leading posters at Extremeskins.com and ventured his way over to BGObsession.com and putting up great, quality posts.  A round table is only complete with more than pundits, but great fans.  Sarge fits the mold. 

Yusuf06:  Read above.  Yusuf was a top poster at Extremeskins who made his way over to the new BGObsession.com.  His posts content drew us to ask him to be part of this discussion.  Again, a real round table has to include die hard fans and we got another one right here. 

Up next, the first edition of the Redskins Round Table. 

Issue:  Should Jim Zorn be fired during the season?

Filed under: DC Media, Jim Zorn, Media, Redskins Round Table, Washington Redskins , Washington Redskins

Live Microphone: DeAngelo Hall

From Rich Campbell via Rich Campbell’s Twitter. 

“I’d have tried to get him down a little more aggressively.”  DeAngelo Hall on reflection back to the Carolina game and Jake Delhomme’s scramble to end the game, in which Hall missed the tackle. 

DCPSR Response:  Oh goody.  Glad you would have tried harder in reflection than you would during the game.  Perfect!

Filed under: DeAngelo Hall, Live Microphone, Washington Redskins , DeAngelo Hall, Washington Redskins

Boycott the Redskins?

Sports author/columnist/etc. John Feinstein has had it with the incompetence of the Redskins front office and is calling for the ultimate sanction against the ownership: a boycott.

“Let’s get to the point here,” Feinstein said. “The Washington Redskins have become the Saturday Night Live routine of the NFL, all right? The owner thinks he knows football and doesn’t know football. He’s got a henchman sideguy to his right, who’s a radio talkshow host half of the week and is calling Bingo callers to fix the offense the rest of the week. It is a joke.

“And let me say this for the record, I know what Redskins fans are saying right now. They’re angry, they’re upset. Ok DO something about it. DON’T go to the game Sunday. I’m serious about this. If you really want to send a message to the owner, stop calling radio talk shows, stop sending e-mails to this show, and DON’T GO on Sunday. Don’t give the guy your money for parking, for concessions.

“Tell him how upset you are by staying home and watching the game on television. They ought to just stay home….DON’T GO. STAY HOME AND WATCH THE GOOD GAMES. DON’T GO!“

It’s an interesting idea. Dan Snyder cannot be forced to sell the team and since he’s a young man with no interest in selling, Redskins fans could be dealing with Snyderatto and their front office shenanigans ["Let's trade two first round picks for Brady Quinn!"] for many years to come. Decades. Think about that for a moment. More of this…for decades to come. Can you take that? You know what has been endured over the last 50 years by fans of teams like the Cleveland Indians, St. Louis/Arizona Cardinals, Cincinnati Bengals. How would you feel about becoming one of them? 

I don’t think it is necessary to stop calling TV or radio shows dealing with the Redskins, but to really hit Dan Snyder in the wallet, you can boycott all the home games. Don’t pay for tickets to the stadium. Don’t pay Snyder for parking. Don’t pay Dan Snyder for beers and brats. Don’t pay Dan Snyder for anything. If you love the Washington Redskins, but can’t stand what Dan Snyder has done/is doing to them, a boycott is your best, perhaps only, hope right now. 

It’s not like Redskins tickets are in such high demand right now. As Dan Steinberg points out:

a ticket broker says prices starting at $30 for upper-level seats this weekend, and $69 for lower-level seats, marking 10-year lows.

A “boycott the Redskins” website has even appeared [ironically featuring ads for Redskins tickets at the top of the page]. Reading websites that cover the Redskins and listening to local sports talk radio, it’s clear an increasing number of fans have correctly concluded that firing Jim Zorn or signing another high-priced veteran isn’t going to make a difference. As I’ve written repeatedly: Coaches and players come and go, Dan Snyder and mediocrity stick around. 

I’ve boycotted the Redskins. I used to be a season ticket holder, but I gave those tickets up and have found I don’t miss it. I don’t miss giving Dan Snyder a penny of my cash. I don’t miss spending the time and money necessary to go to a Redskins game on something else. I watch the games on TV with my father and we have fun no matter what. We sit in plush, reclining leather armchairs [two cupholders each!] and snack and talk and watch the game on a 73-inch high-def TV. And when the game is over and Snyder’s Redskins have let us down again, we don’t face a 2-hour drive home through traffic after negotiating our way to the car through a thicket of drunk and irate fans in one of the worst stadiums to be found anywhere. I’m boycotting the Redskins games and I don’t miss going to see Snyder’s Redskins one little bit. If the Redskins were being run professionally, I might miss it, but as things are, no.  

Is a boycott of the Redskins realistic? It should be easier than ever to organize a boycott, considering the way the Internet and e-mail have been used to organize boycotts of companies, even governments [such as Burma and Sudan]. But the Redskins are a local monopoly playing something a lot of people in the DC area love: NFL football. If you want to see an NFL game live in the DC area, you have to give your money to Dan Snyder. 

Also, fans are fickle. From Sunday night until some time around Wednesday or Thursday, they understand what a problem Dan Snyder is. But come the weekend and the chance to go to another game, fans tend to push reality to the backs of their minds and summon up truly heroic amounts of optimism for a team that has been dashing hopes since Dan Snyder began making personnel decisions. Getting these people to agree to a boycott is difficult, if not impossible.

Dan Snyder knows this. The only way to make Dan Snyder listen to the voice of the fans is to use the one power the fans have: Their money. But Snyder knows that almost never happens in American pro sports and he’s counting on it not working again. The fans will be too fickle, too under-informed, too optimistic, too desperate, too anything but angry and organized. 

Dan Snyder deserves to be punished with a fan boycott of his games at FedEx Field. Will it happen? Don’t hold your breath. 

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Paper bag fan photo courtesy of Getty Image
s.

Filed under: Dan Snyder, Fans, Washington Redskins , Boycott, Dan Snyder, Washington Redskins

Smoke Signals: This sucks

Washington’s offense sucks. You knew that. It hasn’t scored more than 17 points at FedEx Field since the second home game of 2008. And it is going to cost Jim Zorn his job, in early January if not sooner. Why? Basically, they haven’t made the offensive line a priority. They’ve targeted pass-catchers in the draft and free agency and those guys haven’t produced. Meanwhile, the offensive line has gotten older and worse. Not a single backup on the line played a single snap in Washington in 2008 and now 2 reserves are starting.

“They built their offense from the outside-in,” one NFL general manager said. “It’s more important that the quarterback has time than weapons. One thing you need is to make sure the quarterback is comfortable in the pocket so you can see if he can execute the game plan. Going backwards, I think they would revisit that.

“They don’t plan there; they just react. [Owner] Dan [Snyder] would rather look smart than be sound.”

Read it.

More on Washington’s offensive woes. Read it.

The lack of a decent offensive line is having an impact on the passing game:

With Samuels watching from the sideline, Campbell was sacked five times against the Panthers. He has been sacked 13 times on the season; only five quarterbacks in the league have been sacked more. With little time in the pocket, Campbell was unable to make his progressions, and the Redskins had to limit their game plan. Tight end Chris Cooley, one of Campbell’s favorite targets, was forced to block at the line rather than run pass routes. He was held without a catch for the first time since November 2004.

Of Campbell’s 17 completions Sunday, only three were for more than 10 yards; of his six incompletions, only two came on deep routes.

Read it.

Clinton Portis is recycling some of his BS on his weekly radio show, claiming the confrontation with Mike Sellers was no big deal and dismissing talk about how he practices when he feels like it [rarely]. Read it.

Michael Wilbon writes the obvious [and true]: Dan Snyder is the biggest problem with the Redskins and the team won’t be good until Snyder himself removes the problem. Read it. And here’s more on Dan Snyder really sucking as an NFL owner. Read it.

Head Coach Jim Zorn still thinks Fred Davis is as capable of doing what the Skins need done as Chris Cooley or Todd Yoder. Just the latest example of why Jim Zorn should not be a head coach anywhere. Read it.

Washington’s next opponent, the Kansas City Chiefs, is awful and they’re already starting to think about the April 2010 draft. [Skins fans might want to adjust their mindset, too.] KC’s biggest need: Offensive line. Hey, another thing these two teams have in common! Read it.

Washington isn’t the only NFL city plagued by bad ownership:

The undisputed kings of dysfunction are the Oakland Raiders. Not only are they 1-4, but head coach Tom Caple is under investigation for allegedly assaulting assistant Randy Hanson during training camp.

Owner Al Davis fired coach Lane Kiffin last season for alleged insubordination, and his record of recent No .1 draft picks–Robert Gallery JaMarcus Russell, Darrius Heyward-Bey–has been horrible. Heyward-Bey, chosen ahead of Michael Crabtree, has two catches in five games.

The Detroit Lions (1-4) went 0-16 last year and are slowly digging out from the catastrophic personnel choices made by former team president Matt Millen, who seemed obsessed with wide receivers.

Same goes for Kansas City (0-5), a once-stable franchise that went south in the final years of former general manager Carl Peterson‘s tenure. The Chiefs are rebuilding with GM Scott Pioli, coach Todd Haley and quarterback Matt Cassel, but it will take a while.

Tampa Bay (0-5) has been on the decline since ownership fired coach Tony Dungy in 2001 because taking a once-wretched team to the playoffs every year wasn’t good enough. Jon Gruden won a Super Bowl the next year (with Dungy’s players), but his price tag (which included No. 1 draft picks) accelerated their slide.

The Browns (1-4) are on their fifth coach since rejoining the league a decade ago. Don’t get too excited about Sunday’s 6-3 win over the equally inept Bills, who have problems of their own.

Then there are the St. Louis Rams, who’ve lost 15 straight games and have been outscored 146-34 this season. Just when you think they’ve hit rock bottom comes the news of a potential ownership group that includes Rush Limbaugh.

Good luck, Rams fans.

Read it.

Here’s a list of things wrong with the Redskins right now. As you can imagine, it’s a long list. Read it.

The fans are not the only ones angry with the Redskins right now. Some of the players are, too:“Every [expletive] week, it’s something different,” one veteran said. Read it.

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Filed under: Chris Cooley, Chris Samuels, Clinton Portis, Dan Snyder, Jim Zorn, Smoke Signals, Vinny Cerrato, Washington Redskins , Dan Snyder, Jim Zorn, Kansas City Chiefs, Offensive Line, Smoke Signals, Washington Redskins

RED ALERT: It isn’t Theodore’s fault

The Capitals are in a streak they are not used to over the past two seasons.  A 4 game losing streak.  We wrote in yesterdays mid-afternoon Red Alert that three things we believe are plaguing the Caps early on:  1) too many penalties, 2)  ineffective power play, and 3) lack of secondary line scoring. 

One thing not on that list, which coming into the season would have been the biggest question mark, is the goal tending.  Not only did Jose Theodore have significant, tragic off-season issues with the death of his child, but as a veteran, he was being challenged for the starting role by a young Russian who ousted him from that role in last season’s playoffs.  That was then, this is now, and I can’t help but think the Washington Capitals are blowing some of Theo’s best stuff. 

It really is a shame the Caps are on a four game losing streak, and have posted a 1-2-2 record under Theodore.  His play has been way beyond the results.  The only one not surprised by Theodore’s strong net performance is Theo himself.

“Like I said in camp, I came here with a purpose,” Theodore said. “I
just have to say it’s all about having confidence and right now, I’m
feeling really good about where my game is. I’ve had some good
stretches, but this is the best I’ve felt since before the lockout.”

No one — not even Theodore — knew how he would perform after the
death of his two-month-old son in August.

“I came to camp with mixed emotions,” Theodore said. “The first part
of the summer, my mind wasn’t really on hockey. But when I was coming
here in August, I was obviously working twice as hard to make up for
[lost] time and training with a lot of frustration and, I guess, doing
extra training on the ice, just letting everything out.”

The tragic off-season seems to have inspired Theodore as he continues to take steps through quality net-minding to lock down the starting role.  HC Bruce Boudreau has not declared Theo starter over Varlamov, but Theo is getting the bulk of net time and I would be surprised if Theo does not get the nod tomorrow against San Jose.

Theo stats:  REC:  1-2-2, GAA:  2.65.  Save %:  .910

Not bad Theo, not bad!

The one thing the Capitals need to do is finish games.  They are clearly struggling int he final period.  Captain Chris Clark thinks it may be a mental block to overcome. 

“I think it’s been different each game, but now that it has happened a
few times I think guys are thinking about it too much and maybe putting
a lot of pressure on themselves instead of just playing the way we do
the first couple periods,” captain Chris Clark said. “Right now, it is
something that might be a little mental, and we have to get over it
because we are professionals.”

Brooks Laich agrees;

Added Brooks Laich: “I think mental mistakes are all [that is wrong]
and that encompasses everything. That’s taking ill-timed penalties and
turnovers, and we’re a better hockey team than what we’ve shown. We
just have to make sure the focus is better. We’ve talked about it, and
we care about results around here – not intentions.”

Flash nearing return . . . Tomas Fleichmann is nearing his return to the ice.  Flash has been sidelined by a blood clot in his left leg.  His return could provide an immediate boost to the lack of secondary line scoring for the Caps.  Personally, I subscribe to the notion that I think Eric Fehr and Flash can provide the needed scoring boost.  Fehr is back, but needs at least a week or two to get back to game shape and stamina.  Same goes for Flash. 

Filed under: Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals, Jose Theodore, Chris Clark, Michal Neuvirth, Bruce Boudreau, Hershey Bears, Brooks Laich, South Carolina Stingrays , Washington Capitals, NHL, Jose Theodore

Portis: Dispute with Mike Sellers overblown

RB Clinton Portis addressed the dispute last week between him and FB Mike Sellers.  Portis reportedly asked coaches to put TE Todd Yoder in as lead blocker because Sellers was missing blocking assignments, notably, a block, which Seller did whiff against the Detroit Lions on a 4th and goal from the 1 yard line.  Portis was correct.  Sellers did it against in the Panther this week, sliding up the line, instead of froward blocking on the play where Portis was nailed in the end zone for a safety.

Portis stressed the dispute was overblown.

“Man, I think it was a minor situation that was blown out of
proportion,” Portis said on ESPN 980′s The John Thompson Show.  “I think me and Mike handled that, and I
thought it was between me and him.  You know, there was only two other
people in the locker room when it happened, so how it got out to the
media.  I mean, it’s exchanging words.  You know, when you work with
somebody year round, every day, you know, Mike always feel like that
big brother-little brother role. 

“I think Mike being an older cat and a
veteran cat, Mike always want the big brother role, and sometimes
little brother and big brother not gonna co-exist,” Portis said.  “But you know, we
exchanged our words and it was done with, and all the sudden the media
got a hold of it.  So we discussed it, and we fine.”

 

Filed under: Clinton Portis, Mike Sellers, Washington Redskins , Clinton Portis, Mike Sellers, Washington Redskins

Arizona Fall League Update: Washington Nationals

Phoenix fell to Mesa today in the AFL opener, 10-6.   Nat prospect SS Danny Espinosa was 1 for 4 and drove in 3 runs.  Chris Marrero continued his hot hitting, going 1-3, homering and driving in a run. 

Nats reliever Josh Wilkie got hammered out of the Desert Dogs bullpen, pitching 1 inning and allowing 3 hits, 2 walks, and 4 runs. 

All of the Nationals prospects in the AFL are on Phoenix Desert Dogs, including first round picks Stephen Strasburg and Drew Storen.

Filed under: Drew Storen, Minor Leagues, Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals , Washington Nationals

Riggo: “Vinny just go ahead and do radio full time”

Former Redskins great RB John Riggins tells Redskins VP GM whatever Vinny Cerrato that he is a good guy, but no NFL GM. 

 

Filed under: Dan Snyder, Jim Zorn, Video, Vinny Cerrato, Washington Redskins , Jim Zorn, Vinny Cerrato, Washington Redskins

Ovechkin listed in GQ Top 51 Most Powerful people in DC

GQ put out its list of the Top most powerful people in Washington, DC.  The list is of course dominated by big time Democrats connected to President Barack Obama.  After all, he is the President and therefore the source of power in DC.

However. coming in at #48 is Washington capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin. 

As a cliché-prone poet once wrote, Washington loves a winner, and no
local sports team these days wins nearly as often as the Caps. And no
one in the entire NHL scores goals with the brutal frequency of
Alexander Ovechkin. Which means he’s something of a hero around town:
In 2008, Mayor Fenty awarded him a key to the city. (Other honorees
during the mayor’s term: Nicolas Sarkozy, the pope.) More politicos are
starting to cotton to him, too. David Gregory is a regular at the
Verizon Center, while John Kerry and Joe Lieberman show up when they
can. Earlier this year, Ovechkin even got a shout-out from Obama during
the president’s trip to Russia: “As a resident of Washington, D.C.,” he
said, “I continue to benefit from the contributions of
Russians–specifically, from Alexander Ovechkin.”

Let’s face it, Ovechkin has a great, great personality for a powerful city like Washington, DC, a city that thrives on power, but loves to be entertained.  The most powerful city in the Nation thirsts for a winner and there has not been much of that in professional sports in DC for some time.  However, the Washington Capitals are poised to win, win often, and win for awhile, on the back of the greatest player in hockey, the greatest player in the world, Alexander Ovechkin.   He is energetic, enthusiastic, exuberant, and loves the sport.  But overall, he loves the attention, perfect for a city where attention defines power.

Congrats to Great 8 for making the 50 Most Powerul in Washington, DC.     

Filed under: Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals , Alexander Ovechkin, DC, NHL, Washington, Washington Capitals

RED ALERT: Caps in a funk – Afternoon Edition

No use in giving you a game recap of the 3-2 shootout loss last night, you have already read them.  The loss moves the capitals to 2-2-2 and 0-2-2 in their last 4 games. 

Three things are clearly overriding problems of this 4 game skid.  First, the Capitals are not converting the power play like they did last season.  During the 4 game losing streak are a dismal 3-22 (.136) on the power play.  Last year the Caps were 2nd overall in the NHL, over 25% conversion on the PP.  Huge difference.  Second, the Capitals are plagued with the penalty box.  Again last night, the Caps committed 5 penalties.  Heck, the game even started out with a Mike Knuble hooking penalty in the first minute of the game.  Over the 4 game losing streak, the Caps have committed a whopping 26 penalities, thats 6.5 penalties per game.  Granted, the penaly kill went a perfect 5-5 last night, still, these penalties are killing the Capitals.

Finally, where the hell is the secondary scoring, minus Brendan Morrison and Brooks Laich?  Outside Line 1, including Alex Semin and Mike Knuble in that bunch, the Capitals have gotten just 2 goals, Mike Green last night and Matt Bradley.  All scoring has come from Alexander Ovechkin, Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, Laich, Morrison, and Knbule.  Guys like Chris Clark, Eric Fehr, Boyd Gordon, and Dave Steckel have yet to score.

Corey Masisak from the Times reports on some new line formations at Caps practice today.   

Ovechkin-Morrison-Knuble

Laich-Backstrom-Semin

Clark-Steckel-Fehr

Laing-Nylander-Bradley

Morrisonn-Green

Schultz-Jurcina

Sloan-Pothier

As well as Morrison is playing, the Lien 1 with Ovie and Knubble could be a high powered, high scoring line.  Interesting that Michal Nylander is on Line 4, but I believe that is more to do with the absence of Boyd Gordon.  Tarik notes the move of Morrison, at least for now, to Line 1, is for scoring balance purposes. 

One other notable development: Coach Bruce Boudreau, in his continuing
search for balance on his top two lines, has switched things up again.
The top forward combo is Alex Ovechkin-Brendan Morrison-Mike Knuble,
while the second trio is Brooks Laich-Nicklas Backstrom-Alexander Semin.

The Caps have to be loving the performance they are getting in the net from Jose Theodore.  yeah, he has been in goal during this stretch, but Theo himself has been making splendid saves, has been efficient and effective.  Will be interesting to watch the balance that comes forth with Semyon Varlamov.  With Theodore playing so well, Varly, at least for now, is second goalie.

Filed under: Bruce Boudreau, Red Alert, Washington Capitals , Washington Capitals