And they're off...

The Curly R thankfully weighs in on the Archuleta situation, meaning we can officially close the matter. I nominate Ben to play Jerry Springer to the Redskins Blogging Community, as he always seizes the final thoughts on any given subject far better than I possibly could. Adios, Archuleta. Also he's got the Matt Schaub to Texans with lots of entertaining commentary on Vick.

Alright, one more Archuleta comment per Ryan O'Halloran at The Times in his Redskins 360 Blog.

Shameless self-plug. Please check out the Len Shapiro interview. He remains optimistic about Art Monk's chances for induction and, as he's on the Committee, that's a good thing. Thanks again to Len for the interview.

Hog Heaven covers the Patten cut among other things. He also went ahead and posted pictures of Cheerleaders and for that I'm thankful. The context was Miss Maryland Michae' Holloman (Redskins Cheerleader) competing for Miss USA. She did not finish in the Top 15, nor did Jason Campbell's girlfriend Mercedes Lindsey (Miss D.C.). As always, the Redskins were snubbed. Whatever Miss USA. Whatever...

Melinda Waldrop has Cooley on the record in support of Lloyd as Santana's complementary WR, though she wonders whether that is actually the case. I like her blog, Redskins Huddle, as it's always in front of the relevant questions facing Redskins fans. I kind of wish she'd just write my poll questions for me.

Spence at War Cry! has the Theismann-is-fired from MNF story. I agree wholeheartedly with his analysis, and the mention of Ron Jaworski as a possible replacement makes me ever so slightly enthusiastic about the future broadcast. Full disclosure: I often times mute the broadcasting while watching Redskins games, as they typically frustrate me or else I'm watching the game in a crowded bar. This largely insulated me from the MNF debacle last year that was the Theismann/Kornheiser broadcast. Ben throws a few words in as well.

David Gaines at Skinsaphrenia has a pair of posts up, weighing in on Archuleta's departure and our offseason in general. Commenting briefly on last year's inflated expectations, David points out:

And that's as good a place to close this Redskins Robble as any. We did have loads of what etabby called "unearned swagger" after an unlikely 5 game win streak in 2005 that led us to the postseason that had as much to do with our opponents as it did with us. The "unearned" part was personified by the ridiculous expectations set in September by Joe Bugel and Mark Brunell among others. The former said "Super Bowl" the latter said "Anything short of going all the way, honestly, would be a disappointment." Disappointment was his performance against Tampa Bay in the 2nd to last game he'd played -- 7 of 15 for 41 yards. How we can go from 120 yards in the most unincredible playoff win in NFL history to "Superbowl or bust" is a testament to how influencial the "unearned swagger" really was. Hopefully a healthy dose of 2006 Humble Pie will bring us back down to earth and, with any luck, some well played Football. We'll see.