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Look for the Fred Davis Era to begin in earnest this week in Atlanta.

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The bye week really seemed to stretch out for months rather than just the two weeks since we last played an actual football game. After all that has been written, all that has been said, and all that has occurred around this team in the most recent days and weeks, I can tell you this: I am ready to watch my boys get on the field and play a football game. And I intend to reach back into my drawer and pull out my favorite shades--the rose-colored ones--to bring you this week's set of bold predictions for the Redskins-Falcons tilt.

I don't care about 2-5 anymore. I don't. I truly believe it doesn't matter. We are completely capable of knocking off this Falcons team and here is how we are going to do it:

1) Jason Campbell will throw for over 300 yards, 3 touchdowns, and will bottle up the turnover bug that has plagued him in the early goings of the season. I am hopeful that the two weeks off will have given his ankle time to heal enough for him to be just mobile enough to escape the first guy that leaks through. My prediction for the yards hinges on yards after the catch. I think this offensive line will struggle again, but I am betting on quick throws, receivers running into space, and improved decision-making from JC in the dome on Sunday.

2) Fred Davis is going to blow up. Double digit catches, triple digit yardage and at least one score. I think what will impress us the most about Sleepy on Sunday will be his lack of fumbles and his huge first downs. When the line breaks down, Davis is going to get the ball. This might very well be a theme all game long. You look at a guy like Fred Davis and his talent is undeniable. Kevin and I watched him in training camp and the preseason and he was a monster. He is capable of dominating the stats. I am going to assume that Davis understands that this is his chance to really show the Redskins organization that he was a great investment last year. He has put in extra work the last two weeks and it is going to pay off.

3) DeAngelo Hall is going to return a punt for a touchdown. Part of our biggest gripe about this coaching staff was its unwavering support of Randle-El in the return game. The reality though (and I am only speculating guys) is that a lot of capable return men simply don't want the ball in that role. It is as dangerous as it gets in this league and these guys have millions on the line. Call that the right or wrong way to see it from their perspective but I think it is honest. From here, I make the jump to theorizing DeAngelo Hall WANTS the ball in the return game. Let me take you back to the Eagles game. There was a series that the Eagles were forced to punt. Right in front of where I was sitting, I could see Randle El standing on the sideline ready to run in to return the punt. DeAngelo Hall stayed on the field though and waved him off. From my seat, it did not look like this was a coach's decision. In fact, Randle-El made repeated gestures to Hall as if he were beckoning him to leave the field so that ARE could get underneath the punt. This game is Hall's chance to show Atlanta they made a mistake by letting him go. Maybe that makes him more juiced for this one game and we go back to something else next week. Who knows? What I do know is that when he gets the ball as a punt returner, the chance he takes it to the house and dances is great. This week, the Skins will gain some major momentum on special teams when he high steps down the sidelines for a huge punt return touchdown.

4) Devin Thomas will score 2 touchdowns. We are building towards something with this player. This receiver is going to be a key component to our offensive future. He is not our biggest receiver, but he might be the most physical receiver we have. Something is starting to click with him that is helping him understand that his role is absolutely integral on our team. When he gets the ball, he can break tackles, and make guys sorry when they square up to try and tackle him.

5) Marko Mitchell sees his first significant action and makes it pay off with a touchdown. I will be heart-broken if/when he is on the list of inactives this week. Given our current state of things, a player like him simply must be given a shot on the field. His involvement will give us a real warm and fuzzy feeling on Sunday.

Our defense will hold their own--as usual. I think in the last 10 days or so, the players have had a real chance to get some work in with each other while the rest of the world (including us here at Hogs haven) focused on bigger picture issues with this franchise.

Here is what I am most impressed about with regard to this team over the last two weeks: How many stories did you read about players sniping at each other in practice or through the media? How many stories did you read about players complaining about coach's decisions? How many stories did you read about players playing the blame game or spinning the excuse wheel?

I don't think there were any really. Certainly none that were made out to be huge headlines. All the headlines and news focused on Snyder and Cerrato, right? Maybe in the end, this was the best possible thing that could have happened to this team. Maybe a team that should have been put under the microscope a lot more due to its play in the first 7 games escaped that kind of attention thanks to the debacle in the front office! (Maybe I have gone crazy.)

Maybe on Sunday, 53 men come together and beat the hell out of a Falcons team that is completely unprepared for the reinvigorated Redskins.

It's been getting more difficult each week to do this post. Two of the Skins red-zone TDs that come to mind where scrub scores when the game was already out of reach. Nevertheless, I really think this is Fred Davis' time to shine. I know I said after watching training camp that Devin and Malcolm were legit, but Fred stood out in a different manner. Even when I wasn't watching him, he was drawing my eye's attention. It's encouraging to see that Fred cancelled his BYE week plans and stayed in D.C. to work on his technique. Do I dare predict a Fred Davis red-zone touchdown? Yes! (* - I also win if he's wide open and Campbell never sees him).

Another bright-spot for the Redskins is that the Falcons have allowed a red zone TD every game this year. This should be taken with a grain of salt when you look at the quality of their opponents. It's imperative the Redskins defense keeps the Falcons on their side of the field. Falcons have scored 2+ red zone TDs in 4 of their 7 games.

The Skins have proven they can get into the red zone time and time again. What red zone options would you like to see the Skins run 1st and 10 from the Falcons 9-yard line? (besides the Portis half-back option to Mike Williams)? Is this the week we see the rollout, bootleg?

This post is sponsored by Comcast's NFL RedZone Channel, which allows you to see all the action from inside the 20 for every NFL game.

Field Gulls advise to stay away from Holmgren. Image via blogs.suntimes.com

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With Jim Zorn's fate sealed, the Redskins have already begun the hunt for a new head coach (and possibly GM). Since the Redskins front office has proven they have little skill or patience in selecting a leader not named Joe Gibbs, I've taken on the task to educate myself and anyone that cares about the strengths and weaknesses of the available candidates. We'll cover 3 main topics:

1.) Coach's reason for leaving their previous team
2.) Coach's relationship with the players
3.) Coach's ability to evaluate talent

First up is Mike Holmgren, and I'd like to thank John from the extremely popular and well versed SB Nation site, Field Gulls, for answering my Holmgren/Seahawks' related questions. In my final question, John gives a compelling argument of why the Redskins should stay away from Holmgren.

Hogs Haven: What were Holmgren's reasons for leaving? Seemed like he just wanted to retire, but he hasn't even been out of the NFL one year now he wants to coach again, preferably "an East coast team" as he said. Seems a little bizarre.

This is a somewhat controversial subject. Mike Holmgren announced he would retire after the 2008 season in January of 2008. Shortly thereafter, Tim Ruskell and Tod Leiweke announced that Jim Lawrence Mora would be the next coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Speculation is that Holmgren did not like that. Murmurs were that Holmgren wanted to return, but when asked Holmgren recited his stock "I promised Kathy I would take a year off and that's what I plan to do." Holmgren still hungers for football. He hated the way he went out both as a GM and a head coach and believes he has something to prove.

Hogs Haven: Holmgren would most likely assume the GM role as well. How would you rate his draft skills? At a quick glance, he seems to be almost perfect for the first 2 rounds. Dating back to the 2005 draft, everyone selected in the 1st two rounds is still on the roster, and dating back to 2000, he has picked a ton of winners (Hutchinson, Alexander, Trufant, Hamlin, Tatupa). From round 3-9, things get real dicey. 

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NFL.com recently added 'Offensive Line' to their statistics, and it reveals an intricate look into each team's running game and pass protection. Not surprisingly, the Redskins have allowed a 30th ranked 23 sacks, while the Falcons boast the 2nd best pass protection with a puny 6 sacks allowed. The Falcons offense will be the most difficult test for Andre Carter, Griff, Haynesworth, and Orakpo to date, so we'll see how the Redskins D matches up with a top-tier O-line.

Moving on to rushing, who would have guessed the Redskins have a higher rushing average at 3.9 yards per carry over the Falcons' 3.6 average? It's a little skewed since Matt Ryan is averaging 1.6 a carry while Campbell is averaging 4.3 per run.

What gives the Redskins some hope this week is that over 3/4 of the Falcons rushing first downs come up the middle or to the right side, the strongest part of the Redskins defense. 

Redskins' Game Plan Predictions:

- Offensive line: The Skins take the new play-calling scheme and shoddy line on the road to a dome, which will be deafening for the Guards. If Heyer is slow to get into position to begin with, how is this going to work when he loses a half second of his first step to crowd noise? To account for this, John Abraham will be seeing a lot of double teams, most likely with Portis chipping. The way Heyer has been getting beat, Portis will probably be taking on Abraham at full-speed at least once. All focus should be on keeping Campbell's blind side safe, if the Falcons find another way, then have a plan to adjust.

- Tony Gonzalez: Who is going to cover him? Orakpo is still learning on the job, and Tony Gonzalez will absolutely shred him with his routes. The obvious solution is getting to Matt Ryan. If he has time, there are simply too many weapons for him to throw to. The Falcons don't have that bruising back like Stephen Jackson and Brandon Jacobs, so perhaps for this game, Blache moves Orakpo to his natural DE position full-time. This will also help keep Michael Turner from getting outside.

- Motivation: Clinton Portis blogged today:

"Forget about what we've been through that's put us in a 2-5 hole...Everybody in the NFL has talent, what we need is the motivation. We have to look at the season one game at a time instead of the big picture."

It seems obvious, but it's true. If the Skins come in focused and avoid the mistakes that kill them every game (dropped balls, lazy tackling, missed blocks), then they can keep the game close, which is the most we can ask for against an opponent that has won a game previously.

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We all know the retirement is coming, so I thought we'd get it out of the way now and give our thanks to the Redskins' modern day Hog, Chris Samuels, and everything he's given to this franchise.  It may seem preeminent, but let's be honest, the current state of the Redskins and their forth-coming personnel over-haul is not worth risking paralysis.  Chris likely wanted to get his farewell over with, but with the nightmare the front office is currently dealing with, they can't handle any more bad news, especially offensive-line related. It's amazing to think how many moving parts there were over a 3-year span that nearly did not bring Chris Samuels to the Redskins.

Before we dive into all of Samuels' accolades, it's amazing how hectic 1999 and 2000 were. The team was in the process of being sold and multiple people who shouldn't have been in the decision process were.  What led to the Redskins large amount of first round draft picks was kicked off by the Panthers' foolish move to acquire Sean Gilbert.

1998

Defensive tackle Sean Gilbert held out for the entire 1997 season and the Redskins kept the franchise tag on him for 1998. The compensation for another team to sign Gilbert was set at two first-round draft picks. The Panthers foolishly bit and got Gilbert-a good player, but not a high-impact performer-in exchange for their first picks in 1999 and 2000. [Warpath Conf.]

1999

Just before the 1999 draft, Charley Casserly dialed up club president John Kent Cooke and explained the deals he had working. "Charley," John told him, "we need to do what's best for the franchise in the long run."

This sadly was the last time we've heard a quote like this out of Redskins Park. What's more maddening is the introduction of Vinny Cerrato into this process:

New York real estate mogul Howard Milstein nearly bought the team from the estate of Cooke's late father, Jack Kent Cooke, but Milstein withdrew his loan-heavy $800 million offer when it become apparent that NFL owners would reject his bid.

However, in late February, Milstein was allowed to appoint an ad hoc general manager, former 49ers director of player personnel Vinny Cerrato, to work in concert with Casserly. Cerrato wanted an office at Redskin Park. Cooke said no, so Cerrato set up shop in a hotel five miles away. "Every time we were considering a free agent," Casserly says, "I had to remind myself to copy some tapes and send them to Vinny. It was uncomfortable, but I told Vinny, 'This isn't complicated. Either you're going to be here or I'm going to be here. We have to do what's best for the Redskins.'" 

This is exactly what Casserly did in the draft.

Casserly, who had the fifth pick, set up a tentative deal with New Orleans, which was choosing 12th and looking to move up to take running back Ricky Williams. The teams would swap first-round selections, and the Redskins would get the Saints' other five choices, plus a first- and a third-rounder in 2000.

Ditka takes Williams at #5 and the Redskins take Champ Bailey at #7 and Jon Jansen in the 2^nd round.

2000

In the 2000 draft, the Redskins traded their 16^th and 21^st overall picks (and a 4^th and 5^th rounder) for the #2 and #3 overall picks, which of course the Skins selected Lavar Arrington and Chris Samuels.  The thing is, the Redskins originally wanted to draft both Nittany Lions.

Snyder, naturally, is looking to State College, Pa., where defensive end Courtney Brown and linebacker LaVar Arrington played. The owner hired two limousines to drive him there to interview the two young men. The Redskins want both, but particularly Arrington.

The Browns knew we wanted Lavar bad, but the Skins did not get goated into trading up to the #1 spot. Browns took Courtney Brown, and thus, Chris Samuels was taken with the #3.

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More photos » by Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP

11 days ago: Philadelphia Eagles placekicker David Akers celebrates his second quarter field goal as Washington Redskins safety LaRon Landry walks off the field during the NFL football game, Monday, Oct. 26, 2009 in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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Sooo, how was everyone's week off? As the Redskins get back to practicing today, motivation has to be at an all time low. It's about at this time we start hearing all the interviews from Redskins Park. "I'm still motivated, after all it's a job."

It's safe to say that the Redskins will look quite different next year. Chris Samuels, an anchor on the left side and the longest tenured Redskin will be gone, and Jim Zorn and Sherman Smith are likely to see pink slips. It would be surprising to me if Blache stuck around given everything he's been through this season as well.

Coming off a much needed break from all the negativity, the Redskins face a tough opponent with a trip down to visit the red hot Falcons. With Zorn getting two weeks to prepare, I still don't feel much better for the Skins chances in pulling an upset. We'll post a game thread tonight so we can follow the action and discuss how to best match-up with Atlanta.

Even though the Skins went 2-3 in the red zone against the Giants and Eagles, two of them (one in each game) were late TDs when the game was already out of reach. Either way though, it's a glimmer of hope that they can punch it in.

This post is sponsored by Comcast's NFL RedZone Channel, which allows you to see all the action from inside the 20 for every NFL game.

Took me 2 hours, but I'm still proud of it.

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In the spirit of Halloween and the BYE week, I thought I'd do a mid-season evaluation and tag the Redskins players as trick or treat based on their performance (players I thought who have been medium are not included). I gotta say, it's nice diving back into the stats and getting away from all the "banned signed" coverage for a bit.

Let's start with the treats:

London Fletcher - 65 tackles, league leader. This can also be considered a bad stat since that means a.) You're on the field too long, and b.) other players aren't making tackles. The next 4 closest people in tackles behind him play for (BUF, CLE, OAK, and TAM). London gets the top treat because he is the only vocal leader on our team and has continued to work hard to motivate our guys. Leader by example is the perfect title for London. I can't imagine the Redskins defense without him.

Albert Haynesworth - He has lived up to his contract and despite the Redskins 5 losses, he still plays 100% and has shown his competitiveness yelling in the locker room. Everything we expected he would bring to our offense has happened with Andre Carter totaling 6.5 sacks (6th rank) and Orakpo 3.5 sacks.

Hayesnworth has 3 sacks, 21 tackles (16 solo), and 1 recovered fumble.

Rocky McIntosh - 2 forced fumbles and 35 tackles. He's shown he has deserved a contract extension, but at this point, a.) Will the Skins pay him, and b.) Why wouldn't he want to move to a team with a better chance to win?

Chris Cooley - 8th ranked TE with 29 catches despite a sputtering offense. Imagine if Cooley played for the Saints? Chris' play on the field speaks for itself, and his bond with the fans via his blog cannot be underestimated, not to mention the over and beyond amount of charity work he does.

Hunter Smith - Hunter Smith is the 15^th ranked punter when it comes to Net Average (38.8), which is the best of his career. He has also been the rock for Suisham's consistently good field goal kicking.

OK, now for the tricks....and there's a lot of them:

Devin Thomas & Malcolm Kelly: Everything we saw in training camp has not translated to the pre-season or regular season. I do not have an explanation for it, but it is frustrating and it has hurt our offense. A lot of the passing plays Campbell doesn't even give a look their way, so they can't take the full blame.

Thomas: 7 games, 71 yards, 1 TD, 0 Fumbles
Kelly: 7 games, 73 yards, 0 TD, 0 Fumbles

Laron Landry: Laron is another one of those players everyone (coaches included) expected to make the jump to the "premier" safety, and it hasn't happened.

Landry: 0 INTs, 1 pass defended, 1 forced fumble.

He does however have the same average # of tackles per game (approx 5.0) as the elite free safeties (Reed and Polamalu). There is a bright spot in that he is the 6th ranked FS in tackles with 35 (covering for all of the corners' missed tackles), but looking at the free safeties ahead of him in tackles, DET, STL, SEA, DEN, NE, there are some solid guys there (Dawkins, Atogwe, Babineaux). The frustrating part is that all the safeties above him have at least one INT. Laron has all the physical skills to be that guy, but I'm still unsure as to whether it's his instincts or the fact Blache has him playing 30 yards off the line of the scrimmage that is the real problem. Either way, Washington does not have a "ball-hawk" safety.

Last and definitely least...

Vinny Cerrato: I would be here all day if I listed out everyone on the offensive line, but my major two gripes are with Stephon Heyer and Chad Rinehart. These were both guys expected to make the jump to serviceable starters, and that gamble has failed miserably (Chad has only played in 2 games). It is crystal clear we have no talent for evaluating our current offensive line talent, and that is killing this franchise.

To add insult to injury, Jason Taylor currently has 5.5 sacks in Miami. The Redskins paid him $8 million last year and Miami is paying him $1.5 million this year. Awesome...and they got a 2^nd round pick and 6^th round pick from the Redskins. 

Who are your trick and treats?

***UPDATE: Ken Meringolo discussed today's topic with David Donovan himself. Tomorrow, The Revolution update will feature the interview and further thoughts on the subject.

http://blog.redskins.com/2009/10/27/your-t-shirts-are-okay-with-fedexfield-also-lots-of-mike-wise/

Must read. David Donovan, the Redskins Chief Operating Officer, explains how all the negativity with the ticket brokers, suing of fans, and the bad Snyder press was blown completely out of proportion by the Washington Post.  He makes a lot of great defenses with all the recent scandals, but then at the same time, the Redskins are now blocking the media from interviewing fans in the parking lot (UPDATE: TV cameras only). I cannot recall in any sport where there was such a THEM vs US mentality when it comes to the hostility and distrust between an ownership and their fan base. Here's his comment regarding Ticketgate:

Well, it is not our business practice to sell to brokers and it is not our business practice and never has been to sue the fans. What was involved in those cases was a handful of contracts with the 24,000 people that hold premium club seats and suites. These are not general admission ticket holders, which your organization reported that they were.

The Post reported that why would we sue these people if we had 160,000 people on the wait list. 

Okay, you guys knew that was completely false. There is no wait-list for club seats. None of these people involved in these lawsuits were general admission season ticket holders.    

*****Update from Ken Meringolo:

I added this to the comment section below but I wanted to comment on David Donovan's assertions with first-hand testimony to the contrary.

When I read the articles that the Washington Post reported after their investigation, I believed every word..EVERY WORD. Why? Because those things happened to me. I was offered club level tickets by Jason Friedman back in 2000. They say that club level people aren't "waiting list" people. Well, guess who they call to try and sell those tickets to? "Waiting list" people. My name was on the waiting list and they called me to tell me that while they had no available seats in the general admission area, they did have club seats available and I could buy them immediately. I was single, gainfully employed and dying to get season tickets. I was apprehensive about the added cost of club level seats, but Freidman told me not to worry, that if I signed a long-term deal, he would move me down to cheaper seats in two years. I called him before the third season to take him up on this promise and he told that I was unable to move out of my section because I was in a contract. What? I remember specifically wondering if this was happening to other people and the idea to call a reporter crossed my mind. But you know what stopped me? I signed my name to a contract and unlike the douchebag who promised me something he couldn't deliver, I was inclined to honor an agreement I had entered into (albeit naively and stupidly.) So I did. Then things went south for me financially (as well as many others). I called to tell them I was having trouble scrounging the dough for season tickets that year. They stonewalled me. They offered to stretch out my payments over the next two months at a credit card-type interest rate as I recall.

This next part is important because it underlines why David Donovan's stance is hard to swallow. I asked them something to the tune of, "Well, listen, I can't put Redskins tickets on the table for my family to eat, so I might just have to give them up--what happens then?"

They mentioned legal action right away. RIGHT AWAY. Because I was under contract, they threatened legal recourse at THAT POINT. (Sounds like a business practice to me) I feel my intelligence is somewhat insulted when I hear that this was not the business practice. I signed a contract that was too rich for me in the first place, so shame on me. I honored my contract when it was the hardest thing in the world to do. I did it because I was very much certain that if I did not make my payment, I would be sued...by the team I loved. BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT YOU GUYS TOLD ME YOU WOULD DO. I could not stomach that.

I don't know David Donovan personally, so I can not and will not speak to his personal character. But BASED ON MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, I can tell you that in this case, his position is wrong. I have a hard time believing the team's intent was and is not to sue fans. Because you guys made it clear that I would be sued if I did not pay for my tickets. How is that not a "business practice"?