Local hero origin
On July 28, 1977, Chris Samuels was born in Mobile, Alabama. He was born as the youngest son of his parents, James Samuels and Shirley Samuels.
Samuel’s father was a Vietnam war veteran who was physically disabled due to the war. Thus, Samuel’s mother had to work several jobs to support the family.
Chris Samuels first started playing football when he was four years old when he got to play on his older brothers youth football team. He loved throwing, catching and running with the ball, but his first love was knocking down opponents who got in his way. No wonder he was so good once he started playing for real.
Initially, he played football for fun, but as he grew up, he realized that he wanted to pursue a career in football.
Samuel attended Scarborough Middle and John Shaw High Schools, where he was known for his offensive skills.
Chris played offense and defense in high school, helping John Shaw achieve an 8-3 record and a ticket to the state semifinals.
Bama Bama Bama
His talent landed him a scholarship at the University of Alabama, where he played from 1996 to 1999
He won the Outland Trophy at 1999, and he was semifinalist for the Lombardi Award and was a First team All American Selection, he also was named first team all sec by coaches, associated press, Birmingham news and the mobile press register. He earned the Jacobs awars as the SEC most outstanding blocker.
He was key during Alabame upsept victory over Florida in 1999, the game had a dramatic ending with both teams missing extra points, sending the game to overtime. Chris Samuels, opened a big hole for HB Shaun Alexander that found open field and a win game TD
Both Gators and the Crimson Tide, faced again later that season but now in the SEC Championship game, this time Alabama managed to win easily the game by a 34-7 score to win the championship
He started 42 straight games, from 1996 to 1996, he didn’t allow a sack on his college career, and at 1999 he didn’t allow a single QB pressure, he played almost every offensive snap and was the leader of the OL worked along Shaun Alexander
Heading to NFL Draft
Samuels was considered the premier offensive tackle prospect in the 2000 NFL Draft. He did not work out at the NFL Combine after sustaining an injury to his right knee. He was drafted third overall by the Washington Redskins, who had given up two first-round picks (12th and 24th) plus a fourth and fifth-round choice to move up to third in the first round. Samuels was the only offensive tackle drafted in the top 19 of the draft, and the first Alabama offensive lineman selected in the first round of an NFL Draft since Bob Cryder in 1978
Excellent athlete, good run man and pass blocker, and can run like a deer. We isolate him one on one like we did with Lachey and leave him on the same guy the whole game. He’s like Gilligan, he’s got this guy the whole game.
-Joe Bugel, former Washington Redskins OL Coach
Samuels signed a contract with Washington Redskins and immediately played as a left tackle.
In 2000, Samuels was one of only four players on offense to start every game, joining Jon Jansen, Mark Fischer and Stephen Alexander. Samuels won co-Offensive Rookie of the Month for October with Dolphins tackle Todd Wade. He missed the last three quarters in the season finale vs. Arizona with a neck injury.
In 2001, Samuels started all 16 regular-season games at left tackle and was voted to the Pro Bowl, he earned game balls, along with the rest of the offensive line, for two games: vs. Seattle and at New Orleans. Samuels was featured on the cover of the December 3, 2001 issue of Sports Illustrated along with running back Stephen Davis after becoming the first team in NFL history to lose its first five games, then go on to win its next five games.
A Mellon of glory – SFL Era
Once the NFL Merge into SFL. Chris Samuels was considered as one of the best players on a Redskins team had names as: CB Champ Bailey, SS Leroy Butler, OLB Jesse Armstead, MLB Jeremiah Trotter, LE Bruce Smith, QB Steve McNair, HB Steve McNair, just for name some.
The league and Samuel’s life changed the moment Redskins decided to hire Bryan Mellon as their GM, the former NAFL Patriots GM, and a leader with championship Pedigree was the team option for raise them to glory.
Mellon had a reputation to be an old school football guru, his focus was to build a team around players with high IQ and football understanding, he liked to find ton talent and surround them with capable players. A GM with ideology to avoid drafting high players (1st round) at drafts, found in the former 1.3 player a true leader and a player would change his entire line forever.
For the 2002 season, and SFL Debut, Samuel was a special talent because his mobility, being one of the most athletic offensive linemen of the league with 66 spd, 71 agi and 76 acc. He wasn’t overly strong as only had 90 str, some medical reports say after the injury vs Cardinals on his rookie season he had to change his routine, instead sacrifice his mobility he did sacrifice his power.
What made him special was his understanding of the game as he was rated as 82 awr – 88 pbk – 90 rbk, that offered Mellon’s team the possibility to consider Samuels a lock on the OL and build around him.
On the 2002 season he ranked #7 on the league with a total of 85 pancakes and just 3 sacks allowed, his contribution on the left side of the OL were key for Redskins to clinch a wildcard spot for playoffs. His work on the OL boosted his teammates, QB Steve McNair ranked the best QBR on the first SFL season and HB Stephen Davis was 4th in rush yards and 2nd in rushing TD.
Samuel had multiple outstanding games during 2002 season, but his most brilliant games were at week 1 and SFL kickoff vs William Cook Cowboys, having 13 pancakes and 0 sacks allowed, and at week 10 vs Brad Barber Lions, posting 10 pancakes without sacks allowed.
Sadly for Chris, the playoffs game vs Justin Walstead Rams was a nightmare, he posted only 3 pancakes without sacks allowed, and the offense as a unit only scored 3 points, losing the game with a final score of 20-3, despite a solid season, the journey for the title at first SFL season ended in 1 game.
For the 2003 with new energy and motivated to have a better season, Chris Samuels, worked really hard during training camp, everyday he was progressing more and was raising his knowledge on the game, he became a leader on the team, a player young and veterans respected. For the 2003 season he increased his awr on the game to 87 awr – 90 pbk – 90 rbk, while kept the same athletic skills. The team kept HB Stephen Davis and QB Steve McNair as their starters so Samuel didn’t have to adjust to new teammates, thanks to the time he spend with Samuel, Leonard Davis progressed as player, and the Redskins OL start to became one of the best, also GM Mellon acquired veteran OL Jon Runyan via trade with divisional rivals, Philadelphia Eagles. The defense side of the ball had key acquisitions as FS Adrian Wilson, coming from Arizona Cardinals and addition on the DL as RE Hugh Douglas also coming from Eagles. Champ Bailey remained as the leader of that unit.
2003 season was a brilliant one for Redskins, the team won the NFC East with a 12-4 record and 6-0 divisional record, giving Chris Samuel his 1st title at SFL, Samuels ranked 2nd in pancakes just behind Ravens OL Jonathan Ogden. He recorded a total of 105 pancakes and just 4 sacks allowed. Despite his statistical increase this season Davis and McNair regressed in terms of productivity. Samuel broke the 10+ pancake stat line, twice on the season, at week 2 vs Falcons and at week 12 vs Dolphins.
Heading to playoffs Samuel’s Redskins had to face the same Rams team knock them out of playoffs last season, despite the wish of revenge and advance on playoffs, Redskins failed again and lost a now closer game 20-24, Samuels struggled again recording only 3 pancakes and allowing a sack, losing back-to-back on playoffs vs Rams was one of the hardest moments in Samuel’s career.
Completely decided to change his fate, Samuel focused completely on improve his reading on the game, he scored 92 awr – 90 pbk – 90 rbk on the annually test, so his reading of the game at this point were considered as one of the best on the league. Just as Samuels, GM Mellon was frustrated with the results and he was doing the best for lead this team to glory, so he decided to bring back HB Clinton Portis and sign top FA WR Eric Muld, also the team brough in LG Steve Wisniewski another very smart player was going to play next Samuel. On the defensive side of the ball Champ Bailey remained as the captain and leader.
Statically, Chris Samuels got a drastic reduction on his pancake production in comparison with 2003 season as he went from 105 to only 65, but he also managed to reduce the number of sacks allowed going from 4 to only 2. Redskins conquered their second divisional title with a 10-6 record, and despite not being on the top 10 leaders of pancakes, Samuel helped Portis to rank #9 on rush yards and McNair 6th on Pass yards and 4th in QBR and TD passes. For the first time on his career, Samuel didn’t get a single game with 10 or more pancakes.
For the first time on playoffs Redskins avoided Rams, and started playing the wildcard round game vs Chicago Bears, Samuels did have 6 pancakes without sacks allowed and the Redskins won their 1st SFL playoffs game beating the Bears with a 21-10 score. For the divisional round they had to play Packers at the Lambeau, but the offense showed off scoring a total of 35 points for win the game for a 35-21 score. Despite a quiet performance by Samuels of only 3 pancakes and 1 sack allowed, the team managed to conquer divisional round and advance to conference final. Motivated by the support his teammates gave him after the quiet Lambeau game, Samuels decided to give everything of himself to help his team arrive Superbowl, and with a 7 pancakes and 0 sacks allowed he and the Redskins beat the Panthers with a 23-19 score, winning the NFC Conference Championship and earning a ticket to Super Bowl, Samuel was never that close of the glory as he was on that moment, the dream he had as a child when playing with his brothers, and all the time he was on Alabama dreaming with become a professional, he only had to defeat the Dolphins for earn his 1st championship ring, with all the motivation he hit the field that afternoon and posted a 7 pancakes without sacks allowed, in a brilliant Redskins performance they conquered the SFL with a final score of 33-3 over Miami Dolphins.
Chris Samuel became an SFL Champion
After that day Chris Samuel promised himself not to give up till he became an SFL Hof player, it was so easy to be happy with 1 ring, but he knew he was capable of more, so he didn’t stop, and kept playing with the same hunger he had when join the league. For the 2005 season he was a symbol of an smart OL, with 96 awr, 90 pbk and 90 rbk.
GM Mellon made a surprising move when traded away SB Champion QB Steve McNair and bring in QB Rex Grossman, HB Clinton Portis remained on the team, just as sensation WR Eric Moulds, the team drafted TE Jason Witten, For defense the kept the core of CB Bailey and FS Wilson, but also added CB Aaron Glenn, S Tank Williams and CB Fred Smoot was developing more his skills,
The QB McNair trade had a huge effect on the 2005 season, for the first time at SFL, Redskins missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record that wasn’t enough for a wildcard spot. It was a hard moment for Samuels, as he was expecting to be part of the Dynasty and his HOF dream was on risk, despite the bad season, individually he managed to increase his pancakes number to 95, but allowed 3 sacks more for a total of 5, probably the result of QB change. 95 pancakes awarded Chris Samuels as the leader on the category, a bittersweet achievement while he had to watch playoffs from TV for first time and none of his teammates on offense ranked top 10 in main stats categories.
At 2006 off-season Chris Samuels had to endure a mental training, trying to leave behind the 2005 he became a new player, completely motivated to keep pursuit his dream. With the same energy he had after win SB at 2004 season he started the 2006 season. He kept readin playbooks and watching tapes, he ranked an almost perfect rating of 98 awr and improved block skills to 92 pbk and 91 rbk. For the 2006 season GM Bryan Mellon made more moves, HB Clinton Portis was trade and brought in HB Ricky Williams from Packers, they also added LG Willie Roaf, so once again Samuels had an smart player next to him, the rest of team defensively talking remained very similar, with Bailey still being the leader.
Redskins dramatically won the NFC East again, with a triple tie record of 9-7 with Giants and Eagles, but winning it because of a 4-2 divisional record. Once again Chris Samuels was on playoffs, 4th time on 5 seasons. And just like happened on the 2004 season, Samuel decreased his pancake production to an identical number of 65, but this time with 4 sacks allowed, he failed to record a game with double digit on pancakes, the big achievement as member of the team was HB Ricky Williams leading the SFL with 1915 yards, with an incredible 5.5 ypc and 10 TD (Rank #4). As member of the offensive line, that was a moral win for Samuels, and knowing they had the best rush attack was a big motivation for playoffs.
The first game of 2006 playoffs for Redskins were vs Leonard Henry Panther, both sides of the ball had an outstanding performance and won the game without much problems by a 45-20 score. Individually Samuel, had a quiet performance with only 2 pancakes, without sacks allowed, but he was decided to change that and for divisional round he posted an incredible stat line of 10 pancakes and 0 sacks allowed, his best playoffs performance till date and that helped the Skins to defeat Seattle Seahawks by a score of 33-10. Heading to his second conference championship game, Samuel had to be very focus for defeat Neal’s Wintermute Vikings leaded by QB Culpepper and WR Moss. Samuels went back to human stats and posted a solid 5 pancakes, non sacks allowed, in a very close game were defenses leaded the pace of game, Redskins won their 2nd NFC Conference title defeating Vikings by a 17 -14 score.
Samuels knew the glory was close, and in some days, he could get his 2nd ring. Just as happened at conference game, both defenses played an amazing game, so individually Samuels struggled to produce pancakes with only 2, but he didn’t allow a single sack, something was a guarantee for Mellon’s Redskins. The Washington Redskins won their second Superbowl in 5 seasons defeating Gart Pearce Oakland Raiders by a score of 24-13
Chris Samuel was a man with 2 sb rings on his trophy shelf, but he wanted more, a man with his winner mentality can’t stop to be competitive. For 2007 season he finally ranked the perfect awr rating at 99, and kept improving his block skills, having 93 rbk and 93 pbk. This time after won the SB GM Mellon didn’t make a huge move and kept QB Grossman and HB Williams on the team, Samuels lost his partner in crime with Willie Roaf leaving the team, but the OL group kept strong with the addition of Jason Peters, defensively the defense side of the ball remain similar with stars as DE Jason Taylor and MLB Terry Pierce, still leaded by the immortal Champ Bailey.
2007 regular season was a strong battle of Redskins and Cowboys trying to conquer the division, at the end the alone star team won the division with a 12-4 record, but Redskins clinched a playoffs spot with an 11-5 record. Individually Samuel had an outstanding performance with 0’ pancakes and just 2 sacks allowed, he was a key part on the offense success. His best game of the season was vs Packers, with an incredible stat line of 11 pancakes without sacks allowed. Passing attack wasn’t impressive, but rush offense maintains as one of the best of the league, ranking #4 in rush yards and 3rd in TD, only behind MVP winner Deuce McCallister. Chris Samuels ranked #5 in pancakes.
With a wildcard ticket the Redskins had to play Gary Hickman Green Bay Packer, in a game with defenses having the best plays, skins managed to win it by a 16 -7 score, Chris Samuels was big part of that win, as he posted an incredible stat line of 13 pancakes and 0 sacks allowed, breaking his own personal record. With all the motivation that win produced on him, he was ready to play the rivalry game vs Cowboys. He couldn’t replicate the 13 pancakes, but he posted a very solid 7 pancakes without sacks allowed, helping GM Mellon to keep his amazing record vs Cook’s Cowboys, after Skins defeated the Boyz by 1 score, 26-20. That victory clinched the 3rd travel to conference championship game for Samuel, the Redskins won the previous 2 but this time, it wasn’t enough and they lost vs Nathan Jones, New Orleans Saints by an score of 16-13, a game that featured 2 of the best Running backs of the league, the 9 pancakes without sacks allowed by Samuels weren’t enough for win the game. For the first time he lost a conference game, and had no choice that be ready for next season.
2008 season attributes test had Samuel ranking the top 99 awr as previous season but now with a higher block skill of 95 pbk and 96 rbk, making him one of the best offensive linemen of the league and in a very exclusive group. The 2008 off-season had a massive move for the Redskins as GM Mellon made a blockbuster trade with the amateur Cardinals GM Apolo Shapiro, trading away legend CB Champ Bailey and QB Rex Grosmman, in a package for former 1.1 pick QB Carson Palmer and MLB Alfred Fincher, the move was the only thing football media in the Washington area talked about, some fans were really pissed with GM Mellon, but not Samuels, he trusted his GM and he knew Mellon was the best GM of the league, so instead complain about losing his QB and Runningback (Ricky Williams was traded to Steelers), he did his best and posted the best season of his career with 107 pancakes without a single sack allowed, once again he was key piece for Redskins to be again at playoffs, with a 10-6 record good enough for wildcard spot, Eagles won the division with an 11-5 record.
As incredible as it sounds, the 107 pancakes weren’t enough for league the lead, as Texans Orlando Pace had 110, but Samuels did it without allow a sack. Offensively, Musa Smith, a Patriots legend that joined the team during mid-season move, ranked #2 on rush yards and #1 on TD with 14. Carson Palmer had quiet numbers, but ranked #9 on QBR. Offensively the Redskins were a good unit.
Destiny sometimes is cruel and full of surprises, for the third time on his career Samuel and the Redskins had to face St.Louis Rams and once again Justin Walstead managed to beat Mellon’s team, by one field goal and final score of 31-28. Not even the 9 pancakes with 1 sack allowed performance Samuels had on the game were enough for defeat Washington’s kryptonite.
At this point of his career Samuel had played 6 playoffs on 7 seasons
Once again Samuel remained as the top player on Redskins and a fundamental piece on Mellon’s time as GM. Starter from day 1, he saw multiple QB, HB and OL come and go, but he always remained loyal and was an excellent teammate willing to build chemistry with new players, and that’s what happened with Musa Smith and Carson Palmer, they felt welcome on the team.
2009 ability test almost ranked Samuel with a perfect rating as he scored 99 awr – 98 pbk and 99 rbk. Trying to leave behind the 3rd playoffs lost vs Rams, the Redskins added some league legends as OL Tony Boselli that became a good friend with Samuel, and MLB Ray Lewis, this season the defense saw their 2 top safeties leaving via trade but they acquired younger replacements.
Chris Samuel was a very important player on the 13-3 record the Redskins had on 2009 season, posting 81 pancakes with only 1 sack allowed, that gave them the division title vs hated rival Dallas Cowboys that ended 1 game behind with 12-4 record. 7th playoffs travel on the way of Chris Samuel and for the 1st time on those seasons the Redskins got a bye week, so was the first time he didn’t had to play Wild-Card round, sending Skins direct to Divisional game, vs the Dallas Cowboys again, the team they fought all the season for win the division, and once again the Redskins proved to be a superior team and beat Dallas team with a 26-20 score. Samuel had a quiet performance that afternoon with only 3 pancakes without sacks allowed.
The conference championship game that year had an special feeling as Samuels had to face ex-teammates, CB Champ Bailey and QB Rex Grossman, unlucky for the Cardinals the last one missed the game with an injury after the first drive. Samuel and Musa Smith combined to defeat Arizona team by a score of 27-23 and once again Chris Samuel had a date with Super Bowl, his 3rd one.
Superbowl had the Redskins facing Tom Collins, Cleveland Browns, a team was having top performances on offenses, but the group of Musa – Palmer – Samuel had a motivational speech before the game and they had one of the best offensive performance any SB team had done. Scoring an incredible amount of 48 points the Redskins conquered the Superbowl for the 3rd time, beating the Browns by an score of 27 -23.
Chris Samuels was a man with 3 SB rings, but 2010 off-season delivered him a tragedy.
After 7 playoffs appearances on 8 seasons, and 3 Superbowl rings together, GM Mellon decided it was the moment to try a new experience and he accepted the job offer Tampa Bay Buccaneers made him. That destroyed Chris Samuel heart, he remained with Redskins for 1 more season as he had an active contract. Bill Ryan was named the new GM, and despite they both were close and Bill did all on his power to retain him, Samuel walked into FA after 2009 season. The Redskins failed to make the playoffs that season with a 6-10 record and first time on Samuel’s career his team ended with an under .500 record. He posted 83 with only 2 sacks allowed but that wasn’t enough.
For the first time on his life, he was without a contract and on the FA Market, he expected to receive a call from Buccaneers and his old GM but that didn’t happen, instead the Tennessee Titans now leaded by that GM separated him from his friends, put an offer on the table and acquired his services. The relationship between his new GM, Shapiro, and him was complicated, Samuel never forgave him for take away Champ Bailey from Redskins, and he considered Titans GM was a bit crazy, he found out signing with Titans was a mistake as soon as veteran QB Eli Manning was trade away and a re-build started, this is probably the lowest point in Samuel’s career, despite he being a professional couldn’t avoid feel frustrated with his current situation, the contract was a 1 year deal so he walk away at the end of the season. 2011 season with Titans he posted the lowest number of pancakes so far with only 58 and 2 sacks allowed, something that is incredible considering he was protecting a raw USC QB Mark Sanchez.
Back to free agency, Samels considered the retirement, with the age his body wasn’t the same, and he started losing his physical attributes, he posted a 59 spd – 83 str – 64 agi – 69 acc ratings on the annual test, but his football skills remained almost perfect with 97 awr – 97 pbk – 97 rbk. In a league with tendency to go young and for athletic players, had to wait some days on FA before he received a call from Nic St. Marie, Falcons GM. He was offering him a winner project and the chance to have “revenge” against Bryan Mellon, a person he considered a real friend and somehow a father figure, but that never called him for go and play with Buccs, so Chris didn’t hesitate and accepted Falcons offer.
Atlanta locker-room had notable players at QB position, Samuels protected legends Tim Couch and Peyton Manning, and he block for another legend as HB Steven Jackson, reliable Chris Brown and rookie David Wilson. He quickly became friend with Jamie Thomas, his partner on the OL. The defensive side of the ball had multiple solid players but not notable super stars with the exception of defensive end Chris Long.
Samuels was ready for the challenge, but he never expected that just after few weeks, Nic St. Marie and Falcons decided to take separate ways, and after that Atlanta decided to hire a college GM trying luck into the SFL, Sean McGill. Samuels decided to focus in football and let the team to handle the situation, he posted 55 pancakes with just 1 sack allowed, and his contribution helped the team to clinch a playoffs spot, with a 10-6 record, the same as Saints, but New Orleans teams had better divisional record sending Chris and Falcons to wild-card round, a situation he was an expert at.
Before the playoffs, Sean McGill had to leave the team due an emergency and players decided to lead themselves during playoffs, and Chris Samuels was one of the lead voices on the team. Despite his experience, Samuels struggled on first playoffs game vs Philadelphia Eagles, posting just 1 pancake without sacks allowed, but the team made the job and won the game 31-23. Once again, he won another playoffs game, the team without a GM, managed to advance to divisional round. Powerhouse Cardinals roster lead by his old friend Grossman were expecting him, this time Samuels was key with 8 pancakes without sack allowed and in a western duel offenses, Falcons advanced to championship game defeating Arizona 44-41. The man considered retirement earlier in off-season was again in a championship game, and their last obstacle between him and his eternal love were the Minnesota Vikings. This time, his numbers were low again with just 2 pancakes, and no sacks allowed, but again the team did a group effort and defeated Vikings by 33-27 score. The Cinderella story of a team without a GM reaching SB was becoming true, during 2 weeks the players did prepare by themselves to face Miami Dolphins, sources mention that Chris Samuels was the player gave the motivational speech before game. With 5 pancakes and 0 sacks allowed, Chris was a fundamental piece on the win of his team by a 39-32 score. And that way he conquered his 4th SB ring.
4 Superbowl won in 4 SB appearances, the king had to take a decision. Retire as a Champion or keep playing, his contract with Falcons expired and he was set to become a FA. He told his agent: Announce my retirement, but San Francisco 49ers GM Peter Fenger called and convinced him to play 1 more season in the SFL. Both had a chat, Peter knew Samuels didn’t have the athleticism of his glory days, but he needed his leadership and experience on the team. The team was in win-now mode, having top caliber players as QB Kyle Orton and WR Sidney Rice. On the defensive side of the ball the leader was CB Cortez Allen, additionally the team was surround with multiple veterans as Chris.
Chris Samuels against any logic posted an incredible 79 pancakes with just 1 sack allowed, that recording 56 spd – 80 str – 61 agi – 66 acc, but still displaying 99 awr – 95 pbk – 96 rbk, being an example that age is just a number when you have experience and decided to make history. His solid performance helped the 49ers to reach playoffs with a 10-6 record, clinching a Wildcard spot, and sending Samuels back again to wild-card game.
Samuels had 6 pancakes without sacks allowed on the wild-card round game vs Romeo Mendez, New York Giants, he helped his team to win the game by a close score of 27-24, the living legend added another playoffs win to his records, but this time destiny had a plot twist ready for him, 49ers opponent for the divisional round game, were the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, leaded by Bryan Mellon, the most successful GM vs the most successful player in a final duel, Chris Samuels did try his best but the Bucs team played a better game, and his 3 pancakes with no sacks allowed weren’t enough for prevent a lost by 31-10 score.
Finally, Mellon won the last duel, and that way the dream of the 5th SB ring came to an end, after meditate on the topic Chris Samuels decided was the moment to retire from the SFL.
Chris Samuels retires as an SFL Legend, holding the record for the most pancakes with a total of 968, he only allowed 27 QB sacks and never allowed more than 5 in a season. He was invited to 6 pro-bowls, and won the SFL OL of the year award at 2008 season. He had 9 playoffs appearances, with 18 playoffs wins and just 5 playoffs lost. Won the NFC Championship game 4 times and 4 times the Superbowl.
Simply put, in my opinion the best OL to ever play in the SFL. He was the Redskins security blanket and proved to be able to be counted on, no matter the situation.
- Bryan Mellon
