The Redskin Report

It’s not often that a Redskins’ move goes under the radar in football mad Washington, but it happened this week. It’s especially rare when you consider the move involved resigning a player who is widely regarded to be among the best at his position; but such is the life of the under appreciated NFL long snapper.

The Washington Post gave the resigning of Ethan Albright two sentences, which is probably double the press Albright received in all of 2005. As any Redskin fan that remembers the 2000 playoff game vs. Tampa Bay would tell you, this was a very important move. So before we start taking Albright’s consistent snaps for granted, lets take a second to be grateful for the Red Snapper and what he brings to the table.

With his bright red hair and freckle-speckled face, Albright appears to be the least intimidating guy in the NFL outside of the Gramatica family. But beneath the good-ole country boy exterior is a tough guy who hasn’t missed a single game in his NFL career. Granted being a long snapper isn’t the most physically demanding job in the league, but when you consider the difficulty the Redskins have had keeping their kickers and punters healthy, it is an impressive streak.

Albright’s consistency is more remarkable when you consider the lack of stability in the Redskins’ special team units over his 5 years with the franchise. Besides having three different head coaches in his tenure, Albright has snapped to seven different punters (does the name Craig Jarrett ring a bell) and got the ball back to seven different kickers (who could forget the immortal James Tuthill). Despite the constant turnover, Albright hasn’t had many, if any bad snaps that cost the Redskins field position or points.

So before allowing Mr. Albright to step back behind the shadows, we say thanks. Your effort, skill and consistency don’t go unnoticed by die-hard fan. We appreciate all your good work over these past five years, and wish you the best of luck come year six. Ethan Albright, we salute you.

We just have one request: make sure we don’t hear your name again until this time next year.

In the Post
Pro Bowl; Shell named Raiders coach, again;