Camaraderie. Friendships. Fans. And Football.Those were the makings of Thursday's Redskins Welcome Home Luncheon at Tyson Corner's Ritz Carlton Hotel, were every year the team, coaches, and fans intermingle before the start of the regular Redskins season.
Players are awarded, items are auctioned, and media types get to ask coaches a lot of questions.
I caught up with Skins' defensive coordinator, Greg Blache, to get his take on the 2009 class of Washington Redskins.
Who do you see as standout players this year?
To which Blache replied, "Arakpo, Haynesworth, and DeAngelo Hall."
Would you say it's a pretty good bet they've secured a spot on this year's roster?
"Oh yes! Those guys have worked hard and are deserving of a place on the roster," said Blache - nodding his head yes, in full assurance.
Thinking I'd ask about the quarterback situation, Blache explained to me that Jason is ready, and essentially people shouldn't get up in arms over his preseason performance. "Jason is ready."
"What you saw last week was Jason throwing against a group of 'seasoned' Steelers. Chase Daniels threw against players who may not even be on the Steelers' roster, come next week."
Well, that kind of explains the 1 of 7 thing, so I thought. But then ( I saw this).
What are the positives that you see in the team this year?
Citing that there is always work to be done, Blache did say that obtaining the likes of "Orakpo and Haynesworth" are, to him, the positives.
What are the negatives?
"Third downs. Third downs", he echoed.
Do you have any positive reinforcement for the team?
"No. They get that from fans."
But fans can be critical too, I mentioned.
"But never to their faces. When they see them [the players] out in the street, they bow down to them. They may say different things when they're at home, or at the barber shop."
Good point. Especially when every fan in the building was clamoring for an autograph, picture (or both). One guy had a picture of every player on the team, and he was on a mission to have each player autograph each individual player's photos.
Coach Zorn Wants A Super Bowl. "The key to improvement in any organization is the people in it."Fans are in good hands. "We're developing our schemes, and our players through our coaches. These guys have improved their talent through off season training...to bring a 2009 Championship."
"You'll see our commitment to excellence...on the football field, off the football field.
Cites three goals for the 2009 season.
Goal #1 - "We have to win the NFC Championship (East). We have to beat the Eagles (twice), and we have to beat the Cowboys (twice), then we can claim the NFC East Championship."
Goal #2 - The NFC Conference Championship. "If we take care of the NFC East, we'll take care of get the NFC Conference championship."
Goal #3- The Superbowl. "If we win the NFC Conference championship, ... we're there to win the Super Bowl. That's our third goal, to win the Super Bowl. To get there is not the important thing... to win while we're there is the important thing, and we can do that with this group."
Portis' Portrait
Anna Rose Soevik - This girl's got talent.
After finding success with her Obama portrait during last year's presidential campaign, Anna decided that celebrity and 'news maker' portraits was the way to go. She's done portraits of high profile celebs and public figures from Robert Kennedy and Bill Cosby to Gladys Knight and Diana Krall. Not leaving professional athletes out of the equation, Soevik's artwork includes the likes of Alexander Ovechkin, Micheal Phelps, and the Skins' own, Clinton Portis. The Portis portrait was one of the items auction at the Redskins luncheon. "He has one already hanging at his home, but I thought I'd do another one because he's so popular, and he's such a character", said Soevik.
On her favorite person to do a portrait. "Clinton Portis. He's fantastic, a real character. When you've met somebody it makes it much more personable when you're working and painting a person." When we asked if Portis behaved himself while having his portrait done, Soevik replied, "He was a real gentleman." We agree. Learn more here.
Present and Former Cheerleaders
Redskins cheerleaders continue to be active with the organization even after their cheerleading days are over. Some, like Terri Livingston Kozel (third from left), a NASCAR fan for life, works with Joe Gibbs Racing, and makes custom designed NASCAR apparel.
Check out her designs here.
An interesting chat with the Tatoo Lady.
We spoke with Jenni Creer of The Body Gallery (2 locations, one near you). Turns out Jenni, and her boyfriend, have provided their services to a few Redskins players.
"I've personally tattooed Chris Horton and Kareem Moore. My boyfriend, who works in the Sterling shop, has tattooed Fred Davis."
Jenni's co-worker, Lizzi, has tattooed Devin Thomas, and another player that she couldn't recall at the time of the interview.
I asked if she charged the same rates for the Redskins players that everyone else pays. "They get the same rates, if not better rates."
A Bit More To Share With You...
This year's event was hosted by Ric 'Doc' Walker.
Awards went to: Clinton Portis (Offensive player of the Year), London Fletcher (Defensive POTY), and James Thrash (Special Teams).
Happy Birthday, LaDell.
As we've been doing for the last two years, here's a hearty Happy Birthday to Skins RB, LaDell Betts, who's birthday just so happened to fall on the same day as yesterday's luncheon.
Parting gifts: Full color Redskins magazine with schedule, history, and player info. Capital File magazine which featured a few pics of Clinton Portis receiving yet, another award.
What, no official Redskins drinking glass? No commerative DVD?
I guess the recession has even hit Redskins Park. That must be why Mr. Snyder is trying to pimp these 'Redskins Dad' T-shirts to his players.
"We've grown as a family", said Zorn. "We've had ten babies during the off season. I try to get them to play football, and they have a bunch of babies."
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The Skins face the New England Patriots tonight at FedEx Field, 8pm. ( Weather).
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