#98QBKiller Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Thanks to Haphazard for posting this in the Breaking News section. I thought it was an awesome story and that it could use some eyeballs in the Stadium. http://blog.redskins.com/2010/03/04/stephon-heyer-says-goodbye-to-chris-samuels/ After Chris Samuels finished addressing the media today, after the assembled reporters had finished asking their questions, offensive lineman Stephon Heyer raised his hand to ask a question from the audience. "This is Stephon Heyer from the Washington Redskins," he said, following the name-and-affiliation format the reporters had been using. "I had a question: how do I become as good as you?" It was a good moment. Heyer has been the subject of heavy criticism from fans, from the media, even from basic mathematics. But listening to him say goodbye to his teammate, it was easy to root for him and to hope that he really has learned as much from Samuels as he says. "And I want to say," he continued, "I appreciate everything you did for me, man. Comin' in, you were a huge mentor for me, you and Randy [Thomas] both -- although you did pick on me a whole lot. Y'all humbled me enough to understand what it means to be a professional, and I really appreciate that. I'm gonna miss you, man." "I'm gonna miss you too, Stephon," Samuels said. "I love you, man. I know we were hard on you from day one -- you came in with that arrogant swagger about yourself -- but you definitely worked hard, man, to become a good player. And if you continue to do the things you're doing, you're gonna be an awesome player. Just listen to your coaches, man, and stay humble." Given that Samuels had already teased Heyer earlier in his remarks, it was clear that he wasn't kidding about being hard on the younger player. And when Heyer talked to the media about Samuelsafter the press conference broke up, he made it clear that Samuels hadn't been kidding about Heyer's rookie attitude, either. "I guess I came in with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder," Heyer said, "and I guess they took it as me being a little overconfident and ****y. But I had a lot to prove, and they kinda humbled me a little bit. They picked on me for a little while my rookie year -- rain, sleet, snow, sick, I was always picked on. But it was fun, we all did it back and forth, and we all had a great time. It's gonna be different around here [without Samuels]." Someone asked Heyer what Samuels had taught him, and the praise was effusive. "Not only a great athlete," he said, "Chris is a great person. He's a guy that everyone looks up to. He definitely has shown us how to be an athlete and a pro on and off the field. It's gonna be tough to fill those shoes." And, later, when it was pointed out that it might seem odd for Samuels to become a coaching intern this offseason, Heyer found even more to praise. "He's been coaching me when he was a player," Heyer said. "Chris is always giving me insight on what to do. And the thing is, not only is Chris good at giving his insight, he's really good about taking stuff. He'd give me insight about my play and I'd give him insight about what I saw and that's what made him a great player. He was always willing to change his game up and make it work from him." I asked Heyer why it was important to him to get his comment on record, with an audience present, and he won me over a bit with his answer. "I thought it was a good idea just to kind of tell Chris -- and let everyone else know -- how important he was to me. He wasn't just a great player on the field, he was a great person. And he helped me out to be the kind of player and person that I am today." Obviously, a few good quotes and some good-intentioned words for a teammate don't make Heyer a top-tier offensive lineman. But if he's learned as much from Samuels as he says, and if he can learn more when Samuels actually becomes a coaching intern this offseason, he could be a valuable contributor. It's fair to ask why these lessons and improvements might take root now as opposed to at any point in the past, and -- according to Heyer -- that's because of another lesson he's learned from Samuels. "He said it like a true Pro Bowler, athlete, and guy in the NFL knows: one play could be your last," Heyer said, clearly thinking of the play in Carolina that led Chris Samuels to the retirement podium, "and that's very important. We all know that we're going out there not knowing the future, and we've gotta play every down and every play like it's gonna be our last." See also, if you haven't already, my coverage of why Chris Samuels is much tougher than you already thought. The only thing that would've been better is if Chris replied to his question with: "You can't be as good as me." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLongshot Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 It is going to be interesting to see what becomes of Heyer, since he's been tendered. Certainly a strong indicator that he will be back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillUnknown Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Thanks to Haphazard for posting this in the Breaking News section. I thought it was an awesome story and that it could use some eyeballs in the Stadium.http://blog.redskins.com/2010/03/04/stephon-heyer-says-goodbye-to-chris-samuels/ The only thing that would've been better is if Chris replied to his question with: "You can't be as good as me." cold-blooded. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alwaysaskin Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 We tendered Heyer? WTF! That guy should be cut, he's of no value to us, unless we have a burning desire to see the QB get sacked route 74 for another yeah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Adama Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 We tendered Heyer? WTF! That guy should be cut, he's of no value to us, unless we have a burning desire to see the QB get sacked route 74 for another yeah He had some flashes of being good. He just needs to continue to improve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dfbovey Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Chris Samuels is on Comcast right now on the Larry Michael show. Entire show is just Samuels reflecting and looking back on his career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terpskins10 Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 He had some flashes of being good. He just needs to continue to improve. I think we can do worse at backup OT. I don't think the guy is a starter, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icbmayday Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 Great read........although no way Heyer ever becomes nearly as good as Chris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laxpunk2006 Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 I think we can do worse at backup OT. I don't think the guy is a starter, though. Exactly. He's a young guy with a lot of NFL starts coming at an extremely team friendly salary. It would be ridiculous to cut him considering he can play both OT positions. He had a bad year but everyone on the OL did. I would prefer to see him as the #3 OT but he can still improve and help this football team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erock353 Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 That is good read. I give him some props for doing something like that. Here's to seeing him develop to be half as good as Samuels! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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