I first want to say congratulations to Richie Petitbon for becoming the 45th member of the Ring of Fame. His name truly belongs up there at FedExField.
Joe Gibbs gets a lot of the credit for putting those Lombardi trophies in the case at Redskins Park, but you can argue that Petitbon's work as defensive coordinator during that time was just as important.
The stat that still stands out to me was from 1983 when Petitbon's defense forced 61 turnovers to finish with a 43 ratio!
I hate going back to the past, but when the current Redskins are looking at a 4-9 record, it feels good to look at something else!
The Redskins have three more game to finish out the season. I'm not interested in spoiler talk against the New York Giants, so let's talk about what the fellas at my barbershop are talking about.
Nothing is better than some good debate at the local barbershop and at mine there are five barbers who love five different NFL teams. Every time I go there, it's like a scene right out of the movie "Coming to America."
The topic this week at Jason's Family Barbershop in Bowie, Md., was the Redskins' offensive, defensive and special teams MVPs. After some debate, here was the consensus:
Offense: Have to go with Santana Moss. You could have argued for Fred Davis at one point but when you get suspended, you take yourself out of the running. You could have argued for Roy Helu but we can all agree that his sample size is too small to be considered an MVP. He is a great emerging talent but MVP talk will have to wait until next year.
Moss is not having a stellar season and he will not be going anywhere near Hawaii with his numbers but when you talk about a "valuable" player, it's him. He is the one wide receiver that opponents go out of the way to game plan against and his overall veteran presence on the field is why the Redskins have four wins.
Let's just hope that next year there is more of a pool to pick from to discuss then a wide receiver in his 12th season!
Defense: This conversation didn't last long. Yes, the play of rookie Ryan Kerrigan has been surprising, but how can you pick anyone but London Fletcher?He is in his 15th NFL season and he is at the top of the league in tackles. He has played every game and he answers every question from the media.
Not only is he the MVP of the defense, but you could argue also the team. Can you say Mahalo for the third straight year! Fletcher deserves another Pro Bowl berth.
Just like the offensive category, I hope next year – with a DeJon Gomes, Josh Wilson and a healthy Jarvis Jenkins – this debate will be a lot harder!
Special Teams: I received a lot of ribbing for this because I'm a former college soccer player, but I do know what I'm talking about when it comes to kicking things. The job that Sav Rocca has done this year has been outstanding. Laugh all you want but the Aussie could also be on the list for defensive MVP as well!
Rocca gave the defense great field position to work with all year long. It's not his fault they couldn't capitalize on it, like when Ryan Kerrigan intercepted Eli Manning and scored a touchdown in Week 1.
Rocca's 26 punts inside the 20-yard line are tops in the conference and second in the entire league. After the mediocrity of Andy Groom, Derrick Frost, Durant Brooks, Sam Paulescu, Hunter Smith and Josh Bidwell, Redskins fans should be happy that punter is one position on the field that they don't have to worry about.
Okay, there you have it: Moss, Fletcher and Rocca. There should be no disagreement, but if there is, let's hear it and why?
Lou Holder is a long-time sports broadcaster in the Washington, D.C. region. He hosts "Redskins GameTime Live Presented by Verizon" for Redskins.com and the Redskins Broadcast Network.
