Archive for April, 2011

Redskins All-Time Best/Worst Linebackers

This is part 7 in a series of posts in which I’ll list my choices for the Redskins all-time best and worst players at each position. Agree, disagree? Let me know in the comments. Today we cover Linebackers, next up are the Defensive Tackles.

Worst

#5 - Rick Hamilton

Hamilton was a 3rd round pick in the 1993 draft who lasted 1 season plus 1 game for the Redskins. He contributed 0 sacks and only 22 tackles for the burgundy and gold. 12-time Pro Bowl guard Will Shields was picked 3 players later.

#4 - Warrick Holdman

Holdman was basically a starter by default in his 2 seasons with the Redskins, appearing lost in the defense on many occasions. Averaged a paltry 3 tackles per game during his tenure.

#3 - Greg Jones

Drafted in the 2nd round of the 1997 draft…the Skins could’ve had Darren Sharper, Rhonde Barber or Jason Taylor. Jones lasted 4 seasons and played in 63 games…that’s the good news. The bad news is that he barely averaged 1 tackle per game during his Redskins career.

#2 - Michael Barrow

Barrow makes this list having never appeared in a game for the Redskins. He signed a 6 year $11.6 million dollar deal and then missed his entire first year due to injury. The Redskins cut ties with him before year 2.

#1 - Jeremiah Trotter

Signed in the prime of his career to a 7 year $36 million dollar deal he stunk up the joint for 2 seasons with the Redskins. The previous 2 seasons he was a Pro Bowler for the Eagles. Oh yeah, after leaving the Skins he again signed with the Eagles and made the Pro Bowl again the next 2 years.

Best

#5 - Ken Harvey

Harvey edges out Hall of Famer Sam Huff (Huff’s best seasons were for NYG) for #5 on this list. Harvey played 5 seasons for the Redskins earning 4 Pro-Bowl nods. His 41.5 sacks are 2nd among all Redskins linebackers. Also had 391 tackles and is one of the 70 Greatest Redskins.

#4 - Neal Olkewicz

Olkdog appeared in 141 games for the Redskins, good for 3rd all-time. Tackles were not an official stat when he played but it’s been reported he had nearly 1,500 during his career. 2-time Super Bowl champion and one of the 70 Greatest Redskins.

#3 - Wilber Marshall

Marshall played 5 seasons for the Redskins, averaging 5 sacks, 5 turnovers and 125 tackles a season…that is bad ass right there. Super Bowl Champion, Pro-Bowler and one of the 70 Greatest Redskins.

#2 - Monte Coleman

Coleman played 215 games over 3 separate decades and 16 seasons for the Redskins. #1 in career sacks for a linebacker with 43.5 and also had 1000+ tackles. 3-time Super Bowl champion and one of the 70 Greatest Redskins.

#1 - Chris Hanburger

Hanburger played in 187 games over 14 seasons for the Redskins. Sacks and tackles were not official statistics during his playing era but one can assume he is the Redskins all-time leader in tackles and near the top in sacks. Matthew McConaughey’s favorite player. 9-time Pro Bowler, 4-time All-Pro, 1972 NFC Defensive Player of the Year, one of the 70 Greatest Redskins and a Hall of Famer.

Cheers and Hail

Jeremy Jarmon Does A Good Colonel Jessup

Last night the guys from Hogs Haven and I interviewed Redskins DE Jeremy Jarmon for the 7th episode of our Pickled Hogs Radio show. This episode featured some of our best work yet, as well as some of our worst (we set up a hour long show to only stream for 30 minutes). Regardless of the technical difficulties, I think we’re really starting to hit our stride and the shows entertainment value continues to rise.

And if you want entertainment, then you must listen to Jeremy Jarmon acting out the Colonel Jessup courtroom scene from A Few Good Men. Seems Jeremy was an actor in his high school days and he played the Jessup role in a high school play. He does a great job of remembering the dialogue and had us cracking up. Jarmon proved to be a great interview and other highlights included his future with the Redskins and how he’s preparing for next season plus the fact that he thinks Albert Haynesworth will play for the Redskins next season. Head on over to Hogs Haven to listen to the show and for a recap of the Haynesworth stuff. And listen to Pickled Hogs Radio every Wednesday or Thursday night.

Cheers and Hail

Pickled Hogs Radio: Jeremy Jarmon

Live show tonight starting @ 8pm with special guest, Redskins DE Jeremy Jarmon. Get all the details over at Hogs Haven.

Cheers and Hail

What Happened To All Those Redskins Draft Picks?

Since 2003, the Redskins have made a decision as an organization to trade valuable draft picks for veteran players. A “quick fix” mentality that not only hasn’t worked, it’s also caused long term issues. Again this year the Redskins will head into draft day without a 3rd or 4th round pick, in a draft that has a lot of depth and could provide a starter or two in those rounds. Let’s take a look at where all of our draft picks went over the last 8 years and how we could’ve used them if they hadn’t traded them away. My apologies to Mr. Tandler, who wrote a very similar article a few months back. I’m bound to copy Rich at some point…he wrote the book on the Redskins!

2010 Draft

What the Redskins did:

Traded 2nd round pick for Donovan McNabb,
Traded 3rd round pick (supplemental draft) for Jeremy Jarmon
Traded 5th round pick for Adam Carriker.

Who the Redskins could’ve drafted:

2nd round DB’s Nate Allen/TJ Ward /Javier Arenas. DE’s Lamarr Houston/Carlos Dunlop LB’s Koa Misi/Daryl Washington
3rd round WR’s Jordan Shipley/Brandon LaFell QB Colt McCoy
5th round WR Riley Cooper CB Perrish Cox

2009 Draft

What the Redskins did:

Traded 2nd round pick for Jason Taylor
Traded 4th round pick for Jason Kendall

Who the Redskins could’ve drafted:

2nd round RB’s LeSean McCoy/Shonn Greene DB Derek Cox DE Matt Shaughnessy
4th round WR’s Austin Collie/Johnny Knox

2008 Draft

What the Redskins did:

Traded 1st round pick for Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas
Traded 5th round pick for TJ Duckett

Who the Redskins could’ve drafted:

1st round RB’s Chris Johnson/Rashard Mendenhall/Matt Forte/Ray Rice WR’s Desean Jackson/Eddie Royal DE Calais Campbell
5th round WR Josh Morgan DE Trevor Scott LB Geno Hayes

2007 Draft

What the Redskins did:

Traded 2nd round pick for Rocky McCintosh
Traded 3rd round pick for TJ Duckett
Traded 4th round pick for Brandon Lloyd

Who the Redskins could’ve drafted:

2nd round WR Sidney Rice/Steve Smith DE LaMarr Woodley
3rd round WR James Jones/Mike Sims Walker DE Charles Johnson
4th round DB Dashon Goldson WR Steve Breaston

2006 Draft

What the Redskins did:

Traded 1st round pick for Jason Campbell
Traded 3rd round pick for Brandon Lloyd
Traded 4th round pick for Jason Campbell

Who the Redskins could’ve drafted:

1st round WR Santonio Holmes RB DeAngelo Williams LB Demeco Ryans
3rd round T Jahri Evans WR Brandon Marshall DE Elvis Dumervill
4th round DE Ray Edwards DT Kyle Williams

2005 Draft

What the Redskins did:

Traded 2nd round pick for Mark Brunnell
Traded 3rd round pick for Jason Campbell

Who the Redskins could’ve drafted:

2nd round LB Lofa Tatupu DB Nick Collins/OJ Atogwe WR Vincent Jackson RB Frank Gore DE Justin Tuck
3rd round LB Kirk Morrison QB Kyle Orton RB Marion Barber/Brandon Jacobs T David Stewart

2004 Draft

What the Redskins did:

Traded 2nd round pick for Clinton Portis
Traded 4th round pick for Chad Morton

Who the Redskins could’ve drafted:

2nd round DB Bob Sanders DT Darnell Dockett/Randy Starks K Nate Kaeding C Nick Hardwick T Max Starks
4th round DE Jared Allen G Jake Scott

2003 Draft

What the Redskins did:

Traded 1st round pick for Laveranues Coles
Traded 4th round pick for Trung Candidate
Traded 5th round pick for Brandon Stai

Who the Redskins could’ve drafted

1st round DB Troy Polamula/Nnamdi Asomugha/Charles Tillman/Rashean Mathis/Ike Taylor TE Dallas Clark G Eric Steinbach T John Stinchcomb LB EJ Henderson
4th round DB Terrence McGee/Asante Samuel
5th round DE Robert Mathis C Ryan Pontbriand/Dan Koppen P Mike Scifres G David Diehl

Cheers and Hail

Pickled Hogs Radio: Ken Harvey Interview

Ken, Kevin and I had an awesome interview with former Redskins great Ken Harvey last night. One of my favorite former players Ken is a great guy and a great interview. I have transcribed parts of the interview below and Hogs Haven will have more of the interview soon on their site. That being said, click on the link and listen to the show in it’s entirety…there were too many great moments to include in our posts. You can follow Mr. Harvey on Twitter @transition57 and check out his website. He’s got an interesting novel (a murder mystery) coming out soon and we’ll be inviting him back to the show soon.

On going against Joe Jacoby

My first year I went against Joe Jacoby and I never knew a human being could be that strong. I mean, I thought I was strong and he hit me with one arm and I was like…my god this is the NFL. I mean I didn’t realize an individual could be that big and that strong. I got him back when he was a little older and his knees weren’t so good.

On an altercation with former Redskin Sterling Palmer

I was lined up against Sterling Palmer and he was…I was on the punt team and he was on the punt return team and you know like people believe sometimes, you know you’re lined up and we’re talking to each other. He’s like “man it’s hot out here” and I’m like yeah, this is Arizona. We’re having a good conversation and then they hike the ball and he’s balled up his fist and he hit me in the stomach as hard as he could and caught me off guard. I almost dropped to my knees because the blow, I mean it was right in the right spot. I ran down but I couldn’t really run and I was so happy somebody made the tackle and I just ran to the sideline. And I was just like, you know in my mind if I ever catch that guy again I’m going to try to kill him. I ended up coming to the Skins and I see he actually turned out to be a good guy.

On if he still practices martial arts

I haven’t practiced in a long time. I could fake it, if somebody came at me I’d get in a pose and probably do the Karate Kid stance or something. But, all they’d have to do is kick my bad knee and I’d topple over.

Yeah, I’d have to do the crane kick. You know, I tell everybody you just have to figure out which knee is bad…don’t kick the wrong knee.

On who would have won in a fight between him and Greg Lloyd circa the 1990’s

I mean obviously in my mind I would’ve won. Back when I played, I was one of the meanest. So I would, I would’ve been almost like Tyson…I’d have been biting ear parts and stuff like that. I’d have figured out a way to win.

On stories from his playing days

One time I talked to my dad and my dad was like…you know he saw me help a quarterback up off the ground and he’s like son you’re way to nice, you’re not supposed to be helping nobody up. And so the next time I went out there and just tried to kill the quarterback and I busted the upper part of my lip. So I got a scar there now today, just because I was trying to impress my dad.

The greatest feeling in the world is when you…it’s one thing if you can beat somebody physically but when you see you take the life out of them mentally and you see in their eyes and it’s just like, man I hope this game is over with, I hope this game is over with. To me, that’s the greatest.

Cheers and Hail

Redskins All-Time Best/Worst Safeties

This is part 6 in a series of posts in which I’ll list my choices for the Redskins all-time best and worst players at each position. Agree, disagree? Let me know in the comments. Today we cover Safeties, next up are the Linebackers.

Worst

#5 - Ifeanyi Ohalete

Starting strong safety on the 2 Steve Spurrier squads that ranked near the bottom of the league in both rushing defense and total defense. I recall calling him Ifeanyi Olay quite a bit. He earns bonus points for bringing a lawsuit against Clinton Portis to collect money for his old number, which was no longer his number because he had been cut. Never took up the offer from Portis to settle the matter in a boxing ring.

#4 - Mark Carrier

Part of the 2000 free agent bonanza, Carrier signed a 5 year $15.9 million deal with the Redskins…he played 1 lackluster season. 1 interception is all the Redskins have to show for the Mark Carrier era. The Skins would release him prior to 2001 and he never played again.

#3 - Raphel Cherry

Cherry was a QB at the University of Hawaii who the Redskins converted to safety. He played only 1 season for the Redskins, totaling 2 INT’s. It’s what he did after his football playing days that puts him on this list. I again award points for off the field issues. The dude murdered his wife! He’s serving 30 years to life right now.

#2 - James Washington

The absolute worst thing that can happen to you as a football fan is when a player you hate with passion on a rival team signs a fat free agent deal with your team…and proceeds to stink up the joint. Ladies and gentlemen I give you James Washington. One of the old Cowboys Norv Turner recruited to sign with the Redskins, Washington would play just 1 season and 12 games before retiring. Oh yeah, he tried to punch a Redskins fan, at RFK, during a game.

#1 - Adam Archuleta

Archuleta signed a 6 year $30 million dollar deal (the largest in NFL history for a safety) with the Redskins in 2006. The Redskins would get 7 starts in return. Archuleta started getting burned in pass coverage in the preseason and it got worse during the regular season. The Skins would cut ties after just 1 season and were lucky to receive a 6th round draft pick from the Bears for him. That was the most expensive 6th round pick (Jordan Palmer) ever!

Best

#5 - Sean Taylor

One has to wonder how high on the list Taylor would’ve finished if he’d been able to finish his entire career with the Redskins. As it stands he was a 2-time Pro Bowler and an absolute meast (part man, part beast) who could do it all. Support the run, cover the opposing teams beast receivers and apply pressure on the QB.

#4 - Mark Murphy

Undrafted out of college, Murphy would play 8 seasons for the Redskins and is a Super Bowl champion. He made the Pro Bowl and All-Pro teams in 1983. Ranks 3rd among Redskins safeties with 27 career INT’s. Member of the 70 Greatest Redskins.

#3 - Paul Krause

When I look at Krause’s career stats 2 questions pop into my head. Why did the Redskins trade him after 4 seasons and why did it take him so long to get into the Hall of Fame? His stats are ridiculous. As a Redskin he had 28 INT’s in just 54 games, including 12 his rookie season. He was also a 2-time All-Pro and Pro-Bowler as a Redskin. Hall of Famer and member of the 70 Greatest Redskins.

#2 - Brig Owens

Owens is the Redskins career leader for games played at Safety, appearing in 140 games over 12 seasons. Owens did not miss a single game during those first 11 seasons! Also the Skins career leader for safeties in INT’s, fumble recoveries and TD’s. Member of the 70 Greatest Redskins.

#1 - Kenny Houston

This guy was a bad-ass! He made 7 Pro Bowls in his 8 seasons as a Redskin. Also a 2-time All-Pro and Hall of Famer. Member of the NFL’s 75th Anniversary team, the 70’s All-Decade team and one of the 70 Greatest Redskins.

Cheers and Hail