In-season Retrospective – August

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August 3, 2021

By Noonefromtampa

Training camp opened in Richmond last week and the fans of the Washington Football Team came back in droves. Unlike past years when Bruce Allen and Dan Snyder were the leaders of the franchise, new leaders Tanya Snyder and Jason Wright were interactive with the fans, trying to build enthusiasm they hope will turn into people in the seats at the stadium on game day.

The NFL lost several billion dollars last season on ticket sales and stadium game day revenues. They desperately want to avoid that situation again this year and the players certainly want to avoid another possible flat or downturned salary pool.

The first week of training camp has wrapped and now moves back to Ashburn. The team made nice with the City of Richmond which opens up a possible return in future years. This is a marked difference from past years, where the relationship went from a strained one to an acrimonious one.

The other major recent news is how the league is handling the ongoing pandemic. There will be no game postponements this season. If there is a game that cannot be played because of a COVID outbreak, the offending team will forfeit and neither team will collect a game check. The focus is on the players, coaches and other personnel getting vaccinated. As of this writing, only about 60% of Washington players have been vaccinated. Already, at least six players are on the COVID-19/Reserve list: offensive lineman Brandon Scherff, Cornelius Lucas and David Sharpe; wide receiver Curtis Samuel; and defensive players Matt Ioannidis and Chris Miller.

August Birthdays

There are some key player birthdays in August.

Current Players:

Hall of Fame players

John Riggins, aka “The Diesel”, was the MVP of Super Bowl XVII and is the franchise leader in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. He is in the Ring of Fame, is a 70 Greatest Redskins player, and was named to the NFL 1980’s All Decade Team.

Chris Hanburger was an 18th round draft pick back in 1965. Today that would translate to a 7th round pick, which is still pretty amazing for a Hall of Fame level player. He was a 9-time Pro Bowl player and 5-time All Pro player. He was named the NFL 101 1972 NFC Defensive Player of the Year. Hanburger is in the Ring of Fame and is a 70 Greatest Redskins player.

Sonny Jurgensen was the best pure passer I have ever seen (Patrick Mahomes is the closest one to him in skillset). Sonny was a 5-time Pro Bowl player, and 5-time NFL leader in passing yards. He is in the Ring of Fame and is a 70 Greatest Redskins player. Sonny was named to the NFL 1960’s All Decade Team.

Other notable players:

Doug Williams was the MVP of Super Bowl XXII and had one of best quarters in Super Bowl history. He is still an executive with the franchise advising Jason Wright.

Brian Mitchell is the best kick/punt returner in franchise history and one of the top returners in NFL history. He is another player who could be in the Hall of Fame except for the bias against purely special teams players.

Tre’ Johnson, an outstanding guard for eight seasons, is now teaching history at the Landon School in Bethesda.

Ryan Kerrigan, who signed with the Eagles in the offseason, is the official all-time sack leader for the franchise.

James Jenkins was a devastating blocker as a tight end for Joe Gibbs-led teams in the 1990’s. Post football, at one time he worked for the Virginia State Police as a DUI enforcement trooper, winning several performance awards.

Pierre Garcon brought reliable receiving talent to the mix when he was signed as a free agent. The team’s decision not to re-sign him is still viewed as a short-sighted move.