Redskins News and Notes

It’s the bye week, but there’s still some things going on in Redskins Nation that you might want to know about:

Buchanon added to the Active Roster

The Redskins didn’t need their 7 days grace period to get the roster back down to 53 men after CB Phillip Buchanon was re-instated. They cut 7th round pick Brandyn Thompson, and hope to re-sign him to the practice squad if he clears waivers. I thought my solution posted yesterday was better, but I guess the result was pretty much the same.

Orakpo DPOW

Brian Orakpo was deservedly named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Week. Any time a player has 2.5 sacks in a game, he’s going to be in the running. Orakpo was unstoppable against the Rams, and looks to have licked the ankle injury that might have been slowing him down just a hair.

Kerrigan RDPOM

Since we’re talking accolades and acronyms, Ryan Kerrigan was named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Month for September. Sure Redskin fans are immediately smitten with Kerrigan, but it’s nice to see that the whole nation realizes how well this kid is playing. All he did through the first 4 games, was rack up 2.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and an interception – that he returned for a touchdown. That’s a good quarter for any NFL player, let alone a rookie that is still learning a new system AND a new position.

Defensively Devastating

With Kerrigan on one side, and Orakpo on the other, quarterbacks are finding it hard to escape the Redskins rush. Washington is tied for tops in the NFL with 15 sacks through the first quarter of the season. They are fifth in the NFL for total team defense. What a massive turnaround from a 2010 defense that was quite frankly – forgettable.

All Torain Vehicle

Ryan Torain not only got back into the Redskins running game this week, he trucked nearly every guy he came into contact with. The score line read one touchdown, 19 carries and 135 yards – but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Torain ran with passion and fury, and took no prisoners. If you stood in front of Ryan Torain on Sunday, you were going to get run over 4×4 style. Welcome back Ryan. At the time of posting this blog, you could still vote for Torain as the NFL’s Ground Player of the Week.

Cooley on Romo

Chris Cooley made some rather disparaging remarks about Tony Romo early this week, and it raised quite a stink. Yeah Cooley should probably have not chosen the week after Romo battled the Cowboys to an 18-16 decision over the Redskins, but other than that, who cares? This is the Washington Redskins and the Dallas Cowboys – if you’re not down with the rivalry, then you aren’t a die hard Redskin fan. And if you’re a die hard Redskin fan, Chris didn’t say anything that we wouldn’t have said sitting around a bar over beers. There have been so many things that have contributed to the bad blood over the years, the only thing that I wished in the latest instance with Cooley and Romo, is that it had happened before the game against Dallas. Other than that, there’s nothing to see here, and it’s already been blown waaay out of proportion.

Paul Fined $20K

Niles Paul was fined $20,000 for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Sunday. Stiff penalty to pay for playing hard. Is that what the No Fun League is trying to get across here? It didn’t look to me that there was an intent to injure, so while the penalty may have been justifiable, the fine seems over the top. Paul didn’t seem too happy about it, he tweeted, “I was just informed that I’m being fined 20k for that hit. Horrible way to start off my bye week!”

My Twitter Joke of the Day: “Cooley’s comments about taking on Romo in a cage are brazen. After all, Romo is a choke specialist.”

Follow me on Twitter @TheHogsdotNet for more bad jokes, or just to talk about the burgundy and gold.

Hail brothers and sisters!