Here is what you need to know on this Wednesday, October 31, four days before the Redskins take on the Panthers at FedEx Field.
Hall should be fined, not suspended
DeAngelo Hall gave his side of the story of what happened near the end of the Steelers game on LaVar and Dukes on 106.7 The Fan on Tuesday. Hall did not deny that he dished out some verbal abuse to head linesman Dana McKenzie but he did say that is was a two-way conversation.
“From that particular camera angle you can’t see what that ref is saying to me,” Hall said. “So it looks like I’m just out there giving him a piece of my mind and he’s smiling and walks away. And that’s not the case at all. He’s dishing it out just as much as I’m dishing it out.”
Although Hall said that he wished the incident had not happened, he did feel that he had a point. He believes that there should be mutual respect between the players and officials. “Nobody is going out there trying to bully the referees and likewise, they shouldn’t be out there trying to bully us,” he said.
It would be surprising if Hall gets suspended for his tirade, regardless of the culpability of the head linesman in the incident. If you recall, in September Bill Belichick actually grabbed a replacement official by the elbow in the wake of a controversial call on a last-second field goal. The Patriots coach was fined $50,000 but he was not suspended.
It is hard to see the players’ union accepting a suspension for Hall when he didn’t touch an official after Belichick had only a financial penalty for making physical contact with one.
Mike Shanahan indicated on Monday that he might decide to take disciplinary action after the league decided on punishment for Hall. The CBA likely would prohibit the team from fining or suspending Hall as sanctions in such matters are exclusively the purview of the league.
Fact checking Shanahan
When Mike Shanahan was asked about calling the pass play to Robert Griffin III during the Redskins’ loss to the Bucs, there were two startling things in his answer.
“After looking at that play, you feel like a complete dumb-s--t because you want him to be wide open. I’ve run that play probably 10, 15 times with [John] Elway, probably 20 times or more with Steve Young, and with Robert, what you usually do is against the right defense – which is man coverage – no one usually accounts for the quarterback and he’s by himself out there.”
One surprise was his use of profanity. The other was his claim that he sent John Elway out on pass patterns 10 to 15 times and that Steve Young went out for passes 20 times. That seems like a play you might pull out a lot less frequently than that.
A look at the records indicates that Shanahan may have been exaggerating how often he ran the option pass to the quarterback.
In 1993, when Shanahan was the offensive coordinator of the 49ers, Young had his only two career receptions for a net of two yards. Elway had three career receptions, all coming in seasons when Shanahan was either the Broncos’ head coach or offensive coordinator, for 61 yards and a touchdown. He also caught a pass from running back Steve Sewell for 23 yards against the Redskins in Super Bowl XXII.
So either the play was successful only six of 30 or 35 times it was called or Shanahan’s memory back to the glory days is slightly faulty. The guess here is on the latter.
Today’s schedule
11:15—Open locker room
1:00—Practice (closed to the media after first 30 minutes)
After practice (approx. 3:00) Robert Griffin III and Mike Shanahan news conferences
Note: Although we have not received official word from the team, there is every reason to believe that they will be on a normal schedule following Hurricane Sandy.
In case you missed it
Tarik’s Steelers game grades: Offense, defense, special teams
A must-win game for the Redskins
Days until: RG3 vs. Cam @ FedEx Field 4; Eagles @ Redskins 18; Thanksgiving Redskins @ Cowboys 22; Ravens @ Redskins 39
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