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Changing of the tackles

By Skin Patrol

In the 2006 draft the Redskins selected Anthony Montgomery and Kedric Golston with successive picks, presumably to shore up those backup positions. Cue the skeptic groan from the likes of me, at the time, who thought drafting Kedric the Barbarian and Mt. Gomery was hardly the solution we needed to fixing our eldering defensive line. At the time they were set to replace Cornelius Griffin and Big Joe Salave'a, which I thought was very unlikely.

2006, though not our strongest year defensively, belonged to Kedric the Barbarian. He found plenty of time into the starting lineup which surprised a number of observes given that he was, I believe, a 6th round pick. The former Georgia Bulldog had 12 starts but saw time in 16 games.

This year has belonged to Mt. Gomery. Although he recorded just one start in 2006 (he was drafted 5th, before Kedric the Barbarian), he's started 13 of 14 games with 36 tackles and two recovered fumbles. The duo has exceeded all my expectations and now really does appear as a more-than-merely-reliable replacement to Cornelius Griffin as the future anchors of Your Washington Redskins defensive line. Or at least that's the word:

Struggling to keep their playoff hopes alive at a stadium in which they had not fared well recently, the Washington Redskins looked toward the future. With the outcome still in doubt in the fourth quarter of a 22-10 victory Sunday night over the New York Giants, Washington's coaching staff relied on second-year defensive tackles Kedric Golston and Anthony Montgomery.

While interior lineman Cornelius Griffin, the longtime anchor of Washington's defensive line, sat on the bench, his young proteges formed the foundation of a unit that helped the Redskins defeat New York at Giants Stadium for the first time since 2003, and only the second time in their last seven games there. Griffin injured his hand early in the game but could have continued to play.

And it did not cost us the game. Anthony Mt. Gomery led all defensive linemen in tackles that game (5) and managed to recover a crucial fumble forced by the Soul-Eater Andre Carter. Although we would not score on the ensuing drive, we did force a 3 and out that gave us very favorable field position that did ultimately lead to 3 points. Hyperbole: Clearly that fumble recovery won us the game.

In unrelated news, X-Mas is upon us and some of our 7 reader(s) may have Redskins fans worthy of gift receipt. Here are a couple of clothing options: Sean Taylor shirt from Rogue Squirrel and remember that free hoodie I received? Plenty of additional Redskins stuff here.

More unrelated nonsense: Expect some big and positive changes coming soon (but maybe not) to Hogs Haven in the form of some really outstanding new features. No, they aren't replacing me, be still your beating hearts, but there should be some additions here that will really make the seven of you more able to interact and explore this space. You'll know more when I do, just know that it will kick ass.

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