SkinsTribeVA Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Considering it's the offseason, I thought a thread analyzing the character of our current Redskins team might be interesting. Joe Gibbs is known for being a high character guy who surrounds himself with high character guys. This was a staple of his glory days in Washington. Many credit Gibbs II for pulling the franchise out of the turmoil of the post-Gibbs and early Snyder years, a process that included attempting to restore the high character nature of the roster. While he may not have returned the Skins to dominance, he achieved a fair amount of success in character building, bringing in tough, smart, level-headed veterans, and adding more emphasis on character in drafting. As we all know, he retired after the 2007 season and all of a sudden some guy named Jim Zorn from the other side of the country was in charge of the team. Here's where it gets interesting--one year later and the Skins are possibly working with the highest character roster since the Gibbs I years. Since football starts in the trenches, that's where I'll start. For several years our offensive line has been manned by a group of hard-working veterans--the interior of this line was assembled under Gibbs II. This offseason, we brought back Derrick Dockery and along with him came Mike Williams. Dockery, having just been cut by the Bills for not performing up to high expectations comes into Washington with something to prove. His friend Big Mike seems hellbent on getting back into football and proving he was worth the overall number four pick he was taken with in 2004. Meanwhile, one of our tackles is determined not to lose the job that's been his for roughly a decade and the other tackle is the type of guy who, after delivering a season-ending chop block in 2007, made a point of apologizing to both the player he hurt and that team's coaches. As for the defensive line, we have two of the greatest workout monsters in the league in Philip Daniels and Brian Orakpo. Daniels is 36 but was competing in lifting competitions just a year ago. Orakpo is renowned for his weight room prowess--I mean, the man can bench 515 lbs, that's just scary. Lining up next to Orakpo in a few months is Fat Albert Haynes-is-he-worth-it. Al just got a massive payday but he's quoted as saying his goal in Washington is to become one of the all-time greats. Time will tell... Panning out from D-line, we have London Fletcher, possibly one of the most intelligent LB's in the league and a vocal team leader. Behind him, DeAngelo Hall appears to be trying to redeem his reputation and realize his potential with the team of his childhood fanhood. Carlos, Landry, Horton, and Rocky are all quieter, young, talented, developing players. And of course the saintly Reed Doughty is always pushing for playing time. Shifting back to offense, our resident diva Clinton Portis has done a complete 180 since the death of Sean Taylor. Our number one receiver, a spot usually reserved for an extra large ego, is a guy who's greatest sin in wiping his shoes with a towel. His sidekick is engaged in a never-ending battle with Fred Smoot for the endearing title of The Mouth. Creeping up behind those two is Devin Thomas, who showed up out of shape to camp last year but this offseason has caught everyone's attention with his devotion to getting on the field getting the W's for DC. He's hitting the gym hard (supposedly even throwing up due to the intensity of his workouts) and dedicating himself to building chemistry with the QB on and off the field. Speaking of the QB, I purposely saved this one for last. Some people seem to hate him, but no one really hates Jason Campbell. They may hate what he's done (or not done) on the field, but no one hates the man Jason Campbell. He's soft spoken, but kind, charming, and extremely hard-working. He's a Gibbs guy through and through. And this offseason he seems to finally be taking charge of his team in addition to finally getting a second year in one system. To steal Devin's words, it seems we got a team with a party mix of chips on their shoulders. 2009 here we come. There's my rant, if you got this far I'm impressed. I just wanted to share some optimisim with all the negativity floating around in a lot of threads, and hopefully get some discussion going on a subject that hasn't been discussed too much recently. What do you guys think of the character of this team? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vicious Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 "Free Agent", Good post though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins PR Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Let's not ignore Hall's character question marks and Hayneworth stomping a guy's face. I'm not sure where "Clinton Portis has done a complete 180 since the death of Sean Taylor" comes from either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BALLz Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Excellent post. Guys like McIntosh, Randle El and a few others have been here working out all off season. And when they aren't they are often times helping out in the community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommDownMan Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 Bridges should get a mention as well. I think he'll be a good player, but he also has a past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preachtheWORD Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 The bottom line is that the Skins are a team of very likeable players. I can't think of a single player who is a jerk or a "diva" in the truest sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverstar4life Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 I think you guys have gotten better on defense, but let's see what your O can do with a QB with a messed up head, and no true #2 WR. You have the same hurdles to overcome as the Boys do. I think we'll both be chasing the Egirls and the Gnats in the NFC East. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeepThaFaithDC Posted May 18, 2009 Share Posted May 18, 2009 I think you guys have gotten better on defense, but let's see what your O can do with a QB with a messed up head, and no true #2 WR. You have the same hurdles to overcome as the Boys do. I think we'll both be chasing the Egirls and the Gnats in the NFC East. WTF are you doin here cowcrapper?!? the skins don't have the same problems as your boys do.. i mean the guys you had on your team screwed yall up so bad that you were aaalllmost there to now in total REBUILDING mode.. haha get the hell outta here... HAIL!!! REDSKIN 4 EVVVVVEEEERRRRR!!!!! we're right there.. and we are gonna shock the nfl world this year.. little does everyone know the skins have been that close to being a championship team. remember this post cause you'll see it again come january.. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoVaSkins21 Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 The bottom line is that the Skins are a team of very likeable players.I can't think of a single player who is a jerk or a "diva" in the truest sense. True. I think the last guys who could be classified as a "diva" was JT and maybe Snyderatto didn't put up with him, as well as pay him 8.5 mil. for not much production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark The Homer Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 I think you guys have gotten better on defense, but let's see what your O can do with a QB with a messed up head, and no true #2 WR. You have the same hurdles to overcome as the Boys do. I think we'll both be chasing the Egirls and the Gnats in the NFC East.I think you never bothered to read the rules when you joined the best football site on the internet. But I'm not surprised.15. Please maintain respectable size signatures within the limitations set herein. Maintaining reasonable size signatures minimizes the amount of load time needed to access a given page. Furthermore, it reduces the amount of excessive scrolling required of users perusing threads. Signatures should not exceed 550 pixels in width and 200 pixels in height. These dimensions are not a guideline, they are a rule. It is the standard dimension for the entire signature size a member can use. Regardless of the quantity of photos posted, the sum area of all the photos must not exceed the stated size limitations. In addition, signatures should not contain any more than 10 lines of text. The sum total of the height (ie. 200 pixels) INCLUDES text or any combination of images and text. An example is provided below: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsTribeVA Posted May 19, 2009 Author Share Posted May 19, 2009 Let's not ignore Hall's character question marks and Hayneworth stomping a guy's face. I'm not sure where "Clinton Portis has done a complete 180 since the death of Sean Taylor" comes from either. Hall's past issues are a little worrisome, but that's why I labeled him as "trying to redeem his reputation and realize his potential." Don't forget that Hall WANTS to play for the Skins as opposed to what his like for him in Oakland--he didn't want to be there and they were throwing money at him, thus no motivation. We just have to hope he's matured since his Atlanta days. You don't think Portis has changed significantly since Taylor's death? There are not only quotes from him about it making him appreciate how lucky he is and make him want to work harder, but he's participated more in offseason conditioning, complained less about the preseason, and stopped begging for the media spotlight. Unless I'm imagining things, I think I also remember there being quotes from coaches over the past two seasons noting the change in Portis. As for Haynesworth's stomping--it was on a Cowboys' head, so there's no character issue there while he's Washington! Hail!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Hall had problems with Bobby Petrino and Al Davis. Who doesn't? :laugh: He said Petrino treated the players like high schoolers and didn't understand the pro game as HC. Petrino was gone six months later, so how wrong was Hall? In Oakland we have seen a boatload of quality players get pushed out of their system because they couldn't get along with Davis or get used to losing 13 games each season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins PR Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 True. I think the last guys who could be classified as a "diva" was JT and maybe Snyderatto didn't put with him, as well as pay him 8.5 mil. for not much production. Wasn't Jason Taylor NFL Man of the Year formerly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoVaSkins21 Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Wasn't Jason Taylor NFL Man of the Year formerly? Yeah, he was in 2007. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HRNY4ZRNY Posted May 19, 2009 Share Posted May 19, 2009 Great post... Got me excited for next season Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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