In Season Retrospective September
August 31, 2021
By Noonefromtampa
The Washington Football Team will have to cut its active roster down to 53 players by 4 pm today. There is a lot work going on by the front office staff and coaches. A 16 player practice squad needs to be built, the game plan for week one against the Chargers has to be built and the team may even mKe some additional roster changes after scanning the lists of players released by other teams.
September Birthdays
Current players
Montez Sweat – September 4th
Benjamin St-Juste – September 8th
Wes Schweitzer – September 11th
Terry McLaurin – September 15th
Notable Past Players
Clinton Portis – September 1st
Renaldo Wynn – September 3rd
Tom Carter – September 5th
Derrick Dockery – September 7th
Casey Rabach – September 24th
Washington Super Bowl Players
Billy Kilmer – September 5th
Joe Theismann, Ron McDole – September 9th
Ray Schoenke – September 10th
Kurt Gouveia – September 14th
Earnest Byner – September 15th
Jeff Bostic – September 18th
Larry Brown – September 19th
Charlie Harraway – September 21st
Joe Washington – September 24th
Kelvin Bryant, Mike Bragg – September 26th
Ricky Sanders – September 30th
Hall of Fame Player
Charley Taylor – September 28th
Thoughts on Players
Clinton Portis has gone through a lot since retiring the from game. He lost a substantial amount of money he earned through mismanagement and outright fraud. He is also in legal trouble over unpaid child support payments and federal criminal fraud charges. As a player under Joe Gibbs, Portis created some outlandish character portrayals during the playoff run such as Southeast Jerome and Sheriff Gonna Git Ya.
Washington’s last long-tenured quarterback was Joe Theismann, who stopped playing in 1985. That’s how unsettled the position has been over nearly that 40 year span.
Besides Portis, this month we have a tremendous list of running backs from the team’s history pages. Larry Brown, who Vince Lombardi turned from a draft afterthought into a star running back, celebrates his birthday on the 19th. Charlie Harraway moved from halfback to fullback to block for Brown but was a good runner and pass catcher in his own right. Joe Washington and Kelvin Bryant were equally adept at running and catching. Both were exciting to watch every time they touched the ball. Earnest Byner, who played only 4 seasons for Washington, won a Super Bowl (XXVI) that eluded him on some great Cleveland Browns teams that could not beat John Elway and the Denver Broncos.
Best nickname – Ron “The Dancing Bear” McDole.
Little known fact – Ray Schoenke was involved in the formation of the Special Olympics.
No knock on Art Monk, but Charley Taylor is the best wide receiver I have seen play for Washington. As a converted running back, Taylor was always a threat to take the ball all the way to the end zone. Taylor always seemed to get yards after the catch with his elusiveness. He still holds the team record for receiving touchdowns (79) and total touchdowns (90) edging out John Riggins (85 career Washington touchdowns).