[Note by Skin Patrol, 08/07/08 6:51 PM EDT ] Promoted from FanPosts, tagged, edited slightly. Enjoy, I'm off to Vegas.

The SP man-crush guy gives it up! [Ed Note: Poopsticks. I still love you Pete Schmitt.]

Top of the morning news at Redskins camp today, which had nothing to do with Favre: TORB had an immediate updated upon arriving

August 7th Roster move

So when I got into Redskins Park today and saw a note on my computer, I was completely unsurprised. I knew by then that Favre had gone to the Jets and that the Jets were planning to release Pennington, so I figured that the Skins had decided to add an experienced West Coast QB to heighten competition at the backup spots.

Not exactly, but almost as exciting: "We signed free agent safety Justin Hamilton and released FB/TE Pete Schmitt." A huge roster move indeed.

Which if SP was not scarce would be "huge" news on this sight as indicated by TORB, a huge move indeed!

 Washington Times Blog (Redskins 360) provides a little more info:

Also, fullback Pete Schmitt "hung it up" on his own after one day of practice, according to Zorn. Hopfeully, he doesn't change his mind and then try to orchestrate a trade upon his return.

And in the Post, well they got it all! even a Zorn comment on Schmitt.

QBs, Injuries, Schmitt, Favre -- We've Got It All

Holy Schmitt!!!

Fullback Pete Schmitt left Redskins Park yesterday after rejoining and practicing with the team this week, saying he was through with football. The Redskins released Schmitt, 23, just before training camp, then re-signed him Monday.

"He just hung it up," Zorn said. "He just stepped aside and said, 'You know what, maybe this is not for me.'"

Pretty much the rest of it is just normal camp stuff, check out all the links under the "Redskins blogs" on the left side of the page, get yourself updated and possibly learn of Clinton Portis playing this Saturday, Rock's injury, a QB plan which has Colt playing before Collins ...all the normal stuff and Favre to be on the schedule next week.  No injuries and all will be well after 2 of 5 worthless (to a majority of the team at least) games.

Hey Guys,

I'm trying to sell the two tickets I have for the Bills game this Saturday.  Green parking pass comes with it.  I can't make it to the game on Saturday and just found out I had to do something else.  My wife is lucky that this is preseason.

Section 421, Row 27, Seats 19 and 20 along with a Green Parking Pass.

Looking for best offer, and I will deliver them personally so you can get them on time.  Hoping to resolve this soon, so I can drop them to you on Friday.  I'm in Odenton.

Let me know,

Botts

Sorry to clog the blog (rhyming is fun) with Colt stuff, but since I've adopted him I at least have some basis for inflicting my opinion upon your illustrious selves.

I've watched Colt's highlight reels a few times and I come away with two reactions.

First, when he plays he looks just like he did in college (which is freaking stupendous, since he was a jolly green giant amongst mere mortals). I hate to point it out since it was preseason etc.... etc... , but if you extend his stats into three quarters of play, which is how long he usually stayed in games for, they equate almost exactly with his average college performance (27 for 30, 360 yards and 6 tds; a bit high in completion percentage and TDs, but otherwise on the mark). If he continues on this path, we are in for happy days as skins fans.

Second, is the "it" factor. People are (now) saying that Colt just has that intangible "it" thing  (que John Maddens ability to feel Colt's "energy" from the booth). After pondering the weirdness of the existential "it" that the lucky few have, I came to the realization that the ball Colt forced was the perfect example of the "it". Someone without that "it" thang would have made that throw and been intercepted, and then been ripped a new one for it. Somehow it just works out for some people, and that's where Colt seems to shine. Ugly, wacky throw technique? It works. Made a risky decision? It worked. Get smoked in the Sugar Bowl and have your stock drop from near the top to near the bottom? end up with Zorny as your coach (at least it looks like it's working).

However Colt's career plays out, just having a guy like that around can really help, especially on a team that lost most of its games by less than seven (7) points last year. Good luck rubs off, and Colt seems to have the juice in that department. Even if he's on the bench, his "it" will help the team for sure.

Apparently rookie wide outs Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas weren't in shape when they showed up to camp kinda like how I showed up to work Monday morning, pretty freaking weak. The Redskins Insider explains:

Kelly and Thomas could not pass the team's conditioning test and their bodies quickly wore down with two-a-day practices, Zorn said (players have to perform a timed shuttle run within certain parameters). Both will miss several more weeks of the preseason and will be quite far behind. Zorn said it will be difficult to count on them to have mastered much of this system by the start of the season - if they are healthy - and they will very much be behind.

Coach Zorn went on to say that if a player can't pass the physcial test the team gives then  "then something's not right." In laymen's terms they need to get their collective heads and ass' wired together and condense the nonsense.  Coach Zorn went further and mentioned if his knees allowed he'd run the test and called it a pride thing.  Malcolm Kelly and Devin Thomas consider yourselfs called out. I like to try and take the good out of the bad in all things. The good: Coach Zorn is a players coach that wont be treated like a players coach. The bad: our rookie WR's wont be making any contributions any time soon.

Offensive linemen Todd Wade and Stephen Heyer join numerous other Redskins players on the pain train as they both be out at least two weeks.

As for other injuries, reserve tackles Todd Wade (high ankle sprain) and Stephon Heyer (MCL strain) will both miss at least two weeks, Zorn said. That's a pretty huge deal to me, considering they are the second-string tackles, and with the first team barely playing again Saturday night, someone's gonna have to protect Todd Collins's neck.

Well thank the maker we're installing the 3 step and throw offense because our QB's might not have time for a forth this preseason. Chad Rinehart who has lined up at both tackle and guard is now lined up at the all important LT spot.

Durant Brooks faired pretty well in the HOF game and Derrick Frost will try to at least match that aginst Buffalo where he will get all the punting duties. Look for the punters to possibly alternate duties by half in the last three preseason games.

Coach Zorn not only calls out players when they need to get their priorities straight, but also when they preform. One such player is RB Marcus Mason whom looked good in action against the Colts. Coach Zorn even thinks he could get a roster spot. I'm not so sure abouth that though. We have three RB's who have starting experience and two of them have 1000 yd seasons under their belts. With 80 man rosters already having hudge effects Marcus Mason might find himself on the practice squad simply because the team needsdepth on other positions.

As Redskins Fans, knowing that your team is on the rise must feel real good. With young and talented players getting better every season, your team is now in contention not only to win, but to win big. However, winning does not only take place on the field. Knowing this, would you love to see what your favorite players do in the offseason on the side? Now, at PressPassTV, we can help you get insight to the personal profiles of your favorite athletes.

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[Note by Skin Patrol, 08/05/08 9:09 AM EDT ] Many thanks to CptChaosSidekick for posting his Canton thoughts here at Hogs Haven. Edited a bit, enjoy.

Friday August, 1st, the day before I was to fly to Canton early in the morning; I celebrated that night as I could not contain my excitement for the upcoming trip.

Very early Saturday morning I woke up, vision blurred and my skull feeling like it was caving in, I began my journey to Canton.  My girlfriend, who was my ride to the airport early the fateful day, was briefed prior that if she dragged her feet to get me to my plane I would in fact turn into a mythical beast (Ed note: not unlike Chris Horton). To her credit she proved her worth as a sky cab.

My first stop from departing Harrisburg, Pa was Detroit, Mi. I thought: how should I make this hour plus layover go by when I saw two women in Redskins gear at a Martini Bar. I promptly seated myself next to them, and upon further observations noticed that they were already drinking. My type of people. I had two beers with them and in the process came to learn that they were on their way to Canton without their husbands and they were most knowledgeable about football too. Extra Point: they were hella milftastic. Early quote of the day, in a day filled with quotes: It's not fun unless it's a double was the reply to a bartender who asked what kind of Bloody Mary they wanted. We boarded together bound for Canton. I fell asleep with their drunken laughs in the background.

Canton! I landed and the first thing I see out of the gate is a massive HOF banner. This wasn't a dream anymore; Art Monk and Darrell Green were going to be HOF'ers that night.  The first indication that I was heading into something much bigger then me, than every Redskins fan, hell even the milky way, is when the Cabbie looked at me, laughed and asked "Canton?" with a chuckle. I replied yes promptly. He noticed I had no luggage, so I informed him that my flight left the next day and I'd just party the night away until then. He assured me that I wouldn't have a problem finding some people to tag along with. I agreed although I had no idea the magnitude of what I was getting into.

The Hall: One foot out of the Cab at 11am 7hrs before the ceremony was to start and it was a tidal wave of Burgundy & Gold. Being where football was born combined with the fact that I knew it was going to be a Redskin day was almost too much to take in. I overheard the Canton police saying that they never seen anything like this before. After walking around heaven for awhile I took a cab to a restaurant were I was to meet up with some nice folks I had met on Redskinsheads.com.  After some intros, and food we all meandered back to the HOF. Everywhere in Akron, Canton Ohio Redskins fans were in the streets, cars, bars and restaurants.

5 minutes of walking the hallowed grounds my group walked smack dab into Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders! (Ed Note: no pictures?) They signed everything possible and had every picture taken asked of them before the Canton VIP patrol whisked them away. They were awesome.  Walking through memorabilia tents and not trying to make my credit score astronomical was a challenge.

Fawcett Stadium: was a living breathing Redskins pulse by the time I arrived. Enter the Mayor of Canton with opening remarks: Today is Washington Redskins day he proclaimed playing to a crowd as only a politician can, but fuck it, it was Washington Redskins day with or without his blessing.  Chris Berman would mention anything Redskins related and the fans went wild -- alternatively Berman or someone else mentioned anything Dallas and that place got downright hostile. Michael Irvin became the epicenter of Redskins hatred of the Cowboys. He wizzed by in a cart to a seat on the stage, and a wave of Redskins nation crashed into him along the way. Fred Dean, Andre Tippet, Gary Zimmerman, and Emmitt Thomas all had great speeches and were politely welcomed into the HOF. An army of Redskins fans though were on edge for what we all had waited for for so very long...

Darrell Green 

Green was met with a loud, boisterous welcome. HOF Decon Jones places a bet every time this year on which inductee was going to cry first. Deacon Jones said I would cry. You bet your life I'm going to cry. You bet your life I'm going to cry. You bet your life, I will.  His speech was uplifting and motivational. It concluded with something only a select few could say Can I tell you today at the expense of sounding real self-righteous, I belong here. I belong here. (Ed Note: He sure does.)

Art Monk

Art Monk was the last inductee to speak. I wondered the whole night what he might say.  Monk was always soft spoken but he was the major: when he does speak people listen. Art Monk for some reason was passed over for selection time and again.  What possible reaction will he get and how will it compare to Darrell's? Monk's son introduced him and the second Monk stepped to the mic, the dam that was emotion filled with Monk being passed over for years and erupted into what Mr. Irrelevant described best as the Ovation to End All Ovations. Seeing him up on the podium, soaking in the cheers from the sea of Redskins fans in the crowd, was simply fantastic. In the crazed croud I heard someone chant ART, ART and it spread through the stadium, then I heard one person yell IT's ABOUT TIME and with that a chant of IT's ABOUT TIME spread faster then a forest fire and was more deafening than WE WANT DALLAS. The ovation was so long, so passionate that the HOF'ers in their seats stood and clapped. Monk, by my count, tried four different times to begin his speech. After a while he stopped trying, paused looked down and then just soaked it all in. He deserved this and we the fans let him know how much we loved him and were going to celebrate the moment. For the rest of my life I'll remember this moment and have never in my existence been more proud to be a Redskins fan.

Aftermath

Long story short, Redskins nation brought Canton/Akron to her knees that night. Every bar & club was packed with us. I myself got hammered and woke up at the airport with time to spare for my flight. I felt like 32 bags of crap and the simplest tasks were hard to do. Although I left solo for this trip I was never really alone, Skins fans were one pulse, one entity. Would I do it again, you bet your life.

[Note by Skin Patrol, 08/05/08 9:20 AM EDT ] Closing gracias again to reader CptChaosSidekick for sharing his Canton experience. If anyone else was there make sure you get your narrative up in the FanPost section. Cheers, big week for Redskins Nation.

hey check this out it's some new site that's pretty cool. they like our cheerleaders. ha ha

 http://gridironexperts.com/the-first-preseason-game/

 a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a

On Tuesday, July, 22, 2008 I saw Bill Cowher sitting at Wow Cafe and Wingery around 9:15pm, with some other people. This is very interesting seeing him there and Redskins stadium is down the street.

I wonder what this means. We will see in the future. Could it be James (Jim) Arthur Zorn may be one and done? You know Dan is stuck on big name everything, so this could be a long season. Hopefully it's a better season than last year.

MLP 

Lackadasical Camp...NOT!

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On the offensive line

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