How many times have we heard the owners, coaches, and players say the Redskins have the best fans in sports? Well, it only makes sense to keep them out of home games, right?

Washington Post broke the story that brokers could buy large blocks of tickets in exchange for purchasing the over-priced premium tickets that no one wants. Gotta sell those premiums! I'm glad there is finally some resolution as to why Fedex Field has had such a dominant force of opposing fans the last two seasons.

I cautiously believe Snyder did not have a play in this, which I'll address below, but there are some glaring holes in that belief, and his decision not to talk the media hurts even more. You need to step up Mr. Snyder and address this issue, even if you truly had no hand in it. The Fedex Field experience is not a good one and now it's your office directly to blame: 

Facts:

Redskins General Counsel David Donovan said the prohibited sales were discovered in the spring during an internal audit of last season's ticket contracts and involved about 15 ticket brokering companies. He said the ticket sales employees involved were disciplined

The Washington Post was able to document the sales by one ticket broker, ASC Ticket of Gaithersburg, which bought at least 5,000 tickets for nearly $600,000 during the 2007 and 2008 seasons, team records show. The tickets included 1,690 for general admission seats in the 100 sections of FedEx Field's lower bowl, among the most coveted seats in the stadium.    

Donovan said Redskins owner Daniel M. Snyder was unaware of sales to brokers. When he found out, Donovan said, "he was livid" and tried to have the accounts canceled immediately.   

The Redskins have the highest season ticket-renewal rate in the NFL.    

Redskins ticket agents worked on commission at the time. "The motive is money and laziness," Donovan said. "It is a lot easier to sell a package of 50 club seats along with 200 general admission tickets than it is to find 25 fans to buy two tickets each."

Redskins employees sold tickets on stubhub for over face value for the Pittsburgh game

I mean, sweet Jesus. Finally, we get some resolution on what happened last year. It wasn't so much the fans!  So here's my question. WHY ARE THERE 5,000 GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS FOR SALE??? I know 1,000 people that would buy up those lower bowl tickets at $98 a pop. They were left open to use as leverage to sell premium tickets. I don't think to brokers, but definitely fans. Dear Lord...what a mess. How does selling 5,000 tickets to a single person not ring any bells with anyone? This is a joke.

First, I do have to give some credit to the Redskins for catching this in an internal audit. I can't imagine they wanted this to get out, but alas, it did.  I only highlighted parts of the article, some of which I left out are equally troubling.

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Coming to a Fedex Field suite near you?

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Of course not. However, the internet and twitter world is blowing up with rumors that Colt Brennan is trying to woo former Cowboys' QB main squeeze, Jessica Simpson. I am not one to publish gossip rumors, but given the lack of entertainment from last night's 23-0 drumming, let's have some fun with this. This headline is a gem:

- Jessica Simpson Moves Down NFC East Depth Chart [nbc]

I mean, that is headline writing at its finest. Another article brought to light this point: 

Good News for Colt, the Jessica Curse can't hurt him to bad because he has already won the same number of playoff games that Romo has.    

The rumors on this are so bizarre with web chats, flirting, text messages. OK, I'm done with this. If she really wanted to get back at Romo, wouldn't sleeping with T.O or Wade Phillips be more comical? If there's ever a reason not to start Colt now, it's the picture I photoshopped above. I don't need to see that every Sunday.

We haven't debated power rankings in a couple weeks. ESPN puts the Skins at 20, one spot lower than they were on the last release. Other notables:

NYG: 3

Dallas: 14

Philly: 4

Seattle: 18

I note Seattle because it looks like they are the team that jumped over the Redskins into the top 20 and moved them back a spot.

What say you out there? To me, the Philly ranking at #4 continues to be the one that puzzles me. I have loaded some questions up for possible debate.

Chris Cooley is the third in line to cover for Peter King in his month long absence. Trent Green and Matt Birk have gone first and second, respectively. I guess Chris Cooley's inexorable romp to cyber-galactic domination is going rather nicely. He has really come into his own as a personality it seems, and the media is taking note.

Here is the link to today's MMQB column.

In his typical fashion, he cranks out rips on Trent Green, kickers, and even manages to get a little dig on Donovan McNabb. As you're reading it, you can clearly hear Chris saying all of these things. I especially liked his telling of the story of him and Shaun Suisham talking:

A couple weeks ago, I squatted over my helmet next to Shaun Suisham on the practice sideline of Redskins Park. It was your everyday water-cooler dialogue, the kicker being the guy who has nothing to do, ever, and then lingering around, begging for someone to scheme with. Conversations with a kicker are typically nonsense-filled ideas ranging from Barack Obama staring down girls' backsides to Michael Jackson's death dragging his estate out of debt. Every so often, we even talk about football, but with a kicker it's usually something about how a holder's chubby, jittery hands can mess up an entire season or why adding two games to the regular season would be so much harder on a kicking leg.

He went on to talk about Smart Football, which you'll have to hear him explain.

It is a quick read--unlike the normal MMQB--and in it, Chris once again tries to gain support for his monstrosity of a sandwich: peanut butter, mustard, and ham.

via www.everyjoe.com

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There is no off-season. As reported by kentucky.com, Vinny and three Redskins staff members were in Kentucky today to take a look at University of Kentucky DE, Jeremy Jaron. The Philadelphia Eagles worked him out this past June, but decided to pass. Jaron decided to skip his Senior year after failing a test for a banned substance, which seems to be more common than I thought among the NCAA (Redskins defensive end J.D. Skolnitsky). Jarmon was quoted that the suspension was not an issue with NFL teams. Jeremy's accolades are impressive:

• All-SEC (first team) by Rivals.com (2007)
• All-SEC (second team) by SEC coaches (2007)
• Univ Kentucky Co-Most Outstanding Defensive Player (2007)
• SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week for the Vanderbilt game

"First you evaluate (Jarmon) on film, and if you like what you see on film then it brings you down for the workout," Cerrato said. "It gives you a chance to see him move around and see him athletically, and you get to talk to him, his coaches and trainers and find out all the background information."

"I think he worked out well," Cerrato said. "He ran well and was in good shape. He needs to get a little stronger, but he represented himself well. He's a great kid, solid in the locker room, he's smart. He's got all of the intangible things."

Video after the jump...

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Jim Zorn took up Joe Gibbs Racing's offer to spend a day at the tracks with the Hall of Fame Coach down in Charlotte. The two coaches spoke about family, Redskins' football, and of course, Jason Campbell.

Regarding if JC was treated like the red-headed step-child during the very public Mark Sanchez/Jay Cutler soap opera:

"I have a different outlook on that," Gibbs said of shopping the quarterback he had plucked from Auburn. "At some point you're going to have to take the team down the field in a driving hailstorm to win the game. If you get all uptight about stuff as the quarterback -- if (trade rumors) is something that bothers you -- you're in the wrong position."

Gibbs thinks Campbell's hardship is similar to previous QB's he coached:

"You gotta realize an NFL quarterback is going to go through a lot -- all the ones I coached did," Gibbs added through that wheezing laugh of his. "If it wasn't (Mark) Rypien getting benched in the middle of a season, it was Joe Theismann technically going to get benched. Or it was Doug Williams going through two teams and coming here when everybody thought his career was over."

Gibbs on Zorn's legitimacy as a coach:

"I think he has a good feel for the job and where he is," Gibbs said of Zorn. "He understands coaching. He understands where he is. I think that going through that first year, I know what that was like for me. I mean, he wound up in the same spot I did -- 8-8. The second year, you're more settled."

Gibbs on whether he has any regrets coming back to DC for a second go at coaching:

"In life, you get an opportunity you take it," he said. "It was important for me to come back. I felt like it was the right thing for me to do. I think it was the right time for me to leave. I took my best shot and went after it.

"The four games we won after Sean (Taylor) died was the most unbelievable coaching experience ever," he added. "How that team came together and got into the playoffs, man, just unbelievable."

I've read all of Gibbs' comments multiple times trying to dissect the truthfulness in them. I suspect the REAL conversation went more like this:

Zorn: Coach. I am really in a pickle here! The entire fan base wants Campbell to QB this team, but I'm the only one that knows he can't run this offense.

Gibbs: If you look inside your heart, and talk to Jesus, you will find a way.

Zorn: What made you trade up to get this QB? Sure, he never lost a game at Auburn, but he had Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams in his backfield. They would have won all twelve games if they had the drummer for Def Leppard under Center!!

Gibbs: Boy! I'll tell ya! That drummer really plays his guts out. His faith in God must be at a level we all need to be at.

Zorn: The only level the drummer has is a Blood Alcohol Content level....and it's probably higher than the amount of points we're scoring a game.

Gibbs: I really give it our guys. They really fight hard!

Full Article: [WaPost]: Zorn Joins Gibbs for a Day at the Races

Does Jennifer Walcott's Dad Own A UFL Team? I'm not sure either, but the UFL draft was held last night and many former "big" name NFL players were drafted, most notably, our beloved Adam Archuleta. Bruce from Baltimore Beatdown must be so proud!!! I don't know the details of the contract, but the former bust Redskin was drafted by the Las Vegas TBDs, coached by Jim Fassell (Gene Hackman) and QB'd by...wait for it...J.P. Losman! The first thing that comes to mind for me with the UFL is Shane Falco. 

Other notables drafted, so you can get a jump up on your UFL fantasy team, are: Jermaine Wiggins, Labrandon Toefield, Brooks Bollinger, Chris Perry, and BJ Sams. I'm not gonna lie, I'm really disappointed Jeff George is not on the list.

Images via media3.washingtonpost.com, a.espncdn.com

via www.blogcdn.com

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UPDATE 7:00PM: Redskins sign Marko Mitchell as twittered by Matt Terl. I like how things are moving along!

This is certainly bitter sweet news, but it is probably the best for his health and the team. James Thrash was just released by the Redskins for failing his physical, as twittered by Matt Terl. James embodied the hard-working professional we'd love to see every Redskin encompass. Thanks for the memories James, and we wish you the best.

Receiving Stats

Anyone got any good stories? I certainly remember his touchdown this past year against the Cowgirls.