You can't spell Redskins without an "I" and an "R"

by Skin Patrol on Dec 27, 2007 3:08 PM EST

Most recent victim of the dreaded IR is Mike Pucillo, per Redskins Insider:

Reserve C Mike Pucillo, suffering from back problems, was put on IR, ending his season. He could not practice again this week. Pete Kendall has been the emergency center, and Mr. Utility Lorenzo Alexander has takedn Pucillo's spot as the tackle eligible. G Rick DeMulling can do so as well.

Pete Kendall isn't a real option since we need him to start elsewhere on the line. I am totally convinced that Lorenzo Alexander could sub in for the next Moon landing as an alternate astronaut since the dude is handy, so I'm announcing my vote of confidence for him. Everytime he sees field he overachieves, in my opinion. Among other things he has:

Versatile lineman Lorenzo Alexander has increasingly taken on Pucillo's role on offense, which includes serving as a backup guard and tight end in goal-line situations.

Kevin Sampson from the practice squad was upgraded to the regular roster to take Mike's place. The bad news is that we've lost a versatile offensive linemen in Mike Pucillo for the rest of the season (and postseason???). The good news is that Casey Rabach is unbreakable.

Better news: I haven't followed the other 31 teams nearly as closely as I have my beloved 'Skins, but is there another team that has suffered as much roster-loss? We've lost the following players to IR:

Nehemiah Broughton
Tyler Ecker
Mike Espy
Steven Harris
Jon Jansen
Brandon Lloyd
Rocky McIntosh
Mike Pucillo
Carlos Rogers
Randy Thomas
Ross Tucker

In more palpable terms, we've lost our starting cornerback, our starting tackle, our starting guard, our starting weak side linebacker, and a handful of backups and role players. Add in the best player on the team, pro bowl safety Sean Taylor (lost to murder) and we've suffered as much adversity on the roster as any other team that comes to mind. In spite of all that, we just won two huge road games, convincingly, against one opponent that could have guaranteed itself a playoff spot with a win and another that very nearly depended on a win to make the postseason, if I recall correctly. The team has suffered more emotionally this season than any I can remember and here we are controlling our own postseason destiny heading into week 17. And, to think, at one point we were wondering about the future of Joe Gibbs. I agree with mmford10; Coach deserves a lot of credit for not only keeping this team alive, but thriving by the standards of many teams who would love to be in the position we're in.

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