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20 Redskins to Pro Bowl if Voting Ended Today

NFL On Fox - November 19, 2008

ASHBURN, Va. (AP) - Randy Thomas stared in puzzled silence at the numbers for the longest time, then finally starting laughing. If the Pro Bowl voting were to end right now, the veteran right guard would be on his way to Hawaii - along with 19 of his Washington Redskins teammates.

"You've got to be kidding me," Thomas said. "Wow."

So far, it's the Redskins in a burgundy state landslide. Fans have responded in droves to an aggressive get-out-the-vote campaign conducted by one of the most market-savvy teams in the NFL, putting virtually everyone in the lineup - even those who haven't played much or have played well below Pro Bowl caliber - ahead of the pack in the NFC.

"It's a surprise," said Khary Campbell - that's right, Khary Campbell - who has a lead of more than 2-to-1 over his nearest competitor in voting for special teams specialist. "But I'm happy to see our fans showing the overwhelming support they do have for us."

The Redskins' campaign has been so effective that the NFL felt the need to raise the issue in an e-mail sent last week to the digital media departments of all 32 teams by George Scott, the league's general manager, club sites, at NFL Digital Media.

"As it stands right now, the Redskins are leading the NFC ballots in 16 of 19 positions," said the e-mail, a copy of which was provided to The Associated Press. "It's no surprise, given that they have been promoting this all season long. ... This would be a great weekend to promote Pro Bowl voting to your fans. Let me know if you need any ideas or support from the league (or the Redskins) in this important initiative."

Right now, eight of the 11 NFC starters on both offense and defense would be Redskins, plus all four special teams players. Shawn Springs, who has missed six games with injuries, is the leading vote-getter at cornerback. Mike Sellers has one-third of the votes for fullback, giving him a huge margin over his nearest competitor, Madison Hedgecock of the New York Giants. The Giants are 9-1, but their only vote leader is defensive end Justin Tuck.

That's not to say all 20 Redskins are shoo-ins. Fan voting on nfl.com continues through Dec. 9, and it counts for only one-third of the total. Then the coaches and players are polled separately, each counting for one-third.

But some of the leads - including Sellers' - are so large they could be tough to surmount under the complex formula the NFL uses for apportioning votes. The situation is somewhat reminiscent of last season, when the ever-popular Dallas Cowboys sent 13 players to Hawaii.

At least those Cowboys were a 13-3 team. The Redskins' decent but not spectacular record of 6-4 makes the overload of Pro Bowl love almost embarrassing, especially for a candid veteran such as Thomas, who frankly admitted he didn't think he was playing at an all-star level.

"I guess I'm critical of myself," Thomas said, "but I can always play better than what I'm been doing."

The showering of votes represents another coup for Redskins owner Dan Snyder, whose marketing ploys have been far more successful than his football moves. In the spirit of the national presidential campaign, the team launched "Vote the Redskins Ticket" in October, featuring Hall of Fame legends Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff. They were the first two faces greeting anyone who visited the team's Web site, and they graced the cover of the program at a recent home game.

"We encouraged our fans to vote for the Pro Bowl, and they responded in record numbers," team spokesman Zack Bolno said. "Our fans are always enthusiastic and supportive of the Redskins and they demonstrated their passion by voting for their favorite players."

The general concept was hardly a new one. Teams from all the major sports have been encouraging their fans to stuff all-star ballot boxes for decades, resulting in some absurd selections.

While flattered by the support from their fans, many Redskins agreed the votes from the coaches and players carry more credence. Ryan Plackemeier, the leading vote-getter among punters despite ranking 18th in average yards per kick, knows there's a good chance he's not going to stay at the top.

"I think having a big marketing thing can make a big difference if you're second or third and they (the fans) get you into first," Plackemeier said. "I don't know if you're in the middle-of-the-pack kind of thing they can bump you all the way up to first, but we'll see."

Besides, now that word is out the Redskins are dominating the voting, jealous fans across the country will take notice.

"Once other teams catch on," Plackemeier said, "they'll get some more votes for their guys."

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LaVar Arrington is an Idiot

Lavar Arrington showed his ass in this recent interview, below. He was a stupid player that couldn't figure out a game plan and so he 'freelanced'. In doing so, he shortened his career because he threw himself around with reckless abandon. Now he takes shots at a legendary coach, in the Hall of Fame and the owner that treated him like a brother.

I don't care for Dan Snyder for, more than anything, taking too good a care of pre-Madonna players like Arrington and not watching out for the team's better interests, as a whole. But he never betrayed Arrington. If anything, it was the other way around. He's an idiot for even thinking anyone gives a rat's ass about his overpaid ass and his opinion.

Report: Arrington calls Gibbs 'coward', rips Snyder

by FOXSports.com

LaVar Arrington clearly still holds some ill feelings toward the Washington Redskins. And now he's speaking his mind.

In a recent interview with The Washington Times, Arrington took some serious shots at former Redskins coach Joe Gibbs as well as owner Daniel Snyder.

"I called Joe Gibbs a coward for leaving," Arrington said, according to a report on the Web site of The Washington Times. "You came in, you made some money for your NASCAR team. No one else is going to say that. I'm sure more people thought I was a (jerk) for saying that. Joe wouldn't call me because he knows. There are a lot of people who know the truth about what went down with me and the Redskins."

After that powerful diatribe against his one-time coach, who left the Redskins with one year left on his five-year contract, Arrington turned his attention to Snyder.

"I think Dan Snyder is scared to death of me," Arrington said. "He won't look at me. I tried to shake his hand at that luncheon. He shook my hand and was like, 'How you doing, LaVar?' and kept moving. I'm probably the only person that's ever stood up to him and never backed down. I actually humbled myself to call Dan after Sean (Taylor) passed away to try to bury whatever me and him had going on between us. He called me back, and it was almost like he was reading a script. I root for the Redskins because how I feel about the fans outweighs how the organization treated me. I always take pleasure in taking jabs at Dan because people like him need that. There's got to be a person out there who's not afraid to do it."

Neither Gibbs nor Snyder returned comment for the Times' piece.

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Matt Jones Responds To Joey Porter

From Gene Frenette of The Florida Times Union:

In another bizarre development, wide receiver Matt Jones fired back at Miami Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter, who was critical of the NFL for not yet taking any action against Jones for his cocaine arrest this summer, saying it was unfair that he incurred a fine for being critical of game officials while Jones has gone unpunished. However, Jones is reportedly appealing a suspension, which may be why no action has been taken yet.

Still, Jones couldn’t resist taking a dig at Porter after the Dolphins linebacker publicly called him out.“I don’t know why [Porter] is even thinking about me,” Jones said. “I mean, maybe he likes other men and sits up and thinks about stuff, so I don’t know. Nothing. . . . I ain’t got nothing to say.”
When someone tried to ask Jones another question, he responded: “Is Joey Porter the commissioner [of the NFL]?” After a no response, he added: “Then why would I even worry about that?”

Jones sarcastically questioning Porter’s manhood, which came with one Jacksonville television station camera rolling, will likely not be given the silent treatment from Porter. It could also make for a prickly confrontation next year if the Jaguars and Dolphins play against each other, as they usually do in the preseason.

I guess Matt Jones would have voted for Prop 8 in California.

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