Redskins Historian Mike Richman has written an excellent piece titled “Redskins Legacy: Team Of The South” on the Redskins history in the South, even mentioning the Triangle area.

He quoted Hall of Fame receiver Charley Taylor, who said, “We spent a lot of time in North Carolina, and there were a lot of Redskins fans down that way. In cities in North Carolina like Raleigh and Durham, they loved the Redskins, they grew up with the Redskins, they learned football through the Redskins.”

The Redskins were on TV in the Raleigh-Durham market each week for more than 30 years during the football season until the Panthers moved to Charlotte (and unfortunately for Redskins’ fans, the NFC) and started playing in the 1995 season.

The Redskins have also been on the radio in the Triangle area for most of the last 65 years although the signal strength of the stations has diminished over the years. WAUG-750, a 500 watt station on the campus of Saint Augustine’s University, carries the Redskins unless it’s a night game. On a positive note, WAUG carried the pre and post game Redskins shows, unlike the stronger stations that used to carry the games such as 50,000 watt WPTF.

The article notes that Redskins booster clubs popped up in Southern cities, and that caravans of Redskin fans from the North Carolina and elsewhere traveled to see their team play in Washington.

The largest current Redskins fan club in the Triangle area is the Triangle Redskins Fan Club, which meets at Tobacco Road Sports Cafe in Raleigh on game days.

In addition, the article states, sportswriters from southern newspapers, including many in North Carolina, covered the Redskins like a home team.

WSOC-TV in Charlotte has obtained the rights to air three Redskins 2013 pre-season games.

To read the entire Richman article, please click here.

East Carolina wide receiver Lance Lewis has signed as a free agent with the Washington Redskins.

Lewis, 6-foot, 208-pounds, was undrafted in 2012, but was invited to the Redskins training camp last season. He suffered an injury however and did not make the team. He took part in the Skins’ rookie minicamp a few days ago before being signed Tuesday.

Lewis caught 149 catches for 1,716 yards and 22 touchdowns in two seasons at ECU. In 2010, he set the East Carolina single-season record with 14 touchdown receptions.

Among the 12 college free agents the Washington Redskins signed recently are two players with North Carolina ties.

The Redskins signed Appalachian State inside linebacker Jeremy Kimbrough, 5-9, 235-pounds, who led the conference with 143 tackles last season. In fact, he was named Southern Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Year last season. He is known as a run stopper but he also worked out as a fullback during the NFL combine.

The Skins also signed Florida offensive tackle Xavier Nixon, who is from Fayetteville and played a Jack Britt High School. The 6-6, 320-pounder made the Senior Bowl but he was not a consistent starter for the Gators although he cracked the starting lineup at times throughout his four years. In fact, he started five games at left tackle as a freshman while Tim Tebow was the starting QB.

“In January of 2013, Washington Post columnist Mike Wise said only superstar quarterback Robert Griffin III could force the Redskins to change their name. Well sorry, Mike, but RGIII doesn’t seem to be on board with the cause.

“RGIII sent out a tweet today branding calls for a Redskins name change as the ‘tyranny of political correctness.'”

– Jonathan Wolfe, Opposing Views

Griffin tweeted, “In a land of freedom we are held hostage by the tyranny of political correctness.”

Evidently the series of tweets were sent out because of a DC Council proposal by council member David Grosso calling for the Redskins to change their name to the “Redtails,” the nickname of the Tuskegee Airmen.

People certainly have the right to be offended but they don’t have a right not to be offended.

The fact is that the name “Redskins” was meant to honor the former head coach, William “Lone Star” Dietz, who was an American Indian. The term “redskin” is a translation from native American languages of a term used by native Americans for themselves. The term entered popular usage via the novels of James Fenimore Cooper. In the early- to mid-nineteenth century the term was neutral, not pejorative, and indeed was often used in contexts in which whites spoke of Indians in positive terms.

I hope Griffin isn’t forced to retract his statements and, in fact, I hope he stands firm against the name change. If he does, he can end this silliness.

Redskins phenom QB Robert Griffin III helped lead the the team to a 14-0 lead over Seattle on two dominating drives in the first quarter of the NFL playoff game Sunday. After aggravating his previous knee injury, the Skins managed just 11 yards in the second quarter. That’s when Coach Mike Shanahan should have removed Griffin from the game.

Griffin’s limited mobility, which is a key part of his game despite having a rifle arm as well, was a huge detriment to the Redskins offense. The playbook got much smaller against the Seahawks and when the Skins started getting bad field position, it was just about over even though the Redskins held a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter.

Shanahan should have started Kirk Cousins in the second half. Sure, give Griffin the second quarter to see if he could go – he deserved that much considering the excitement he has brought to Redskins’ fans. There is so much unhealthy Jesus-like devotion to Griffin that the fans weren’t even clamoring for a more healthy Cousins, who after all led the Skins to one win as a sub and one win as a backup, to enter the game.

Perhaps the Redskins wouldn’t have beaten the Seahawks with Cousins starting the game but the Redskins were up 14-0 and rolling when Griffin aggravated his injury. The Redskins could have and should have won with Cousins in that situation.

It wasn’t until Griffin became incapacitated after not being able to get on a fumble that laid on the ground in front of him for what seemed like an eternity that Cousins came in. By that time, Seattle was up 24-14 and time was almost out. The Seahawks could afford to just bring everybody after Cousins to rush the fellow rookie.

I’m not sure if Shanahan was overly enamored of Griffin or if he were hoodwinked by Griffin who boldly proclaims that the Redskins are his team and he should be out there with them. He even disagreed with Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen who told him in the locker room that sometimes you have to step aside when you’re not 100 percent for the betterment of the team.

Griffin certainly has a big ego but I think he is a team player who really thought he could lead the team to victory. In the first quarter, he was 6 of 9 for 68 yards and two touchdowns. His quarterback rating dropped from 97 to 5.9 after that when he completed 4 of 10 for 16 yards and an interception.

With a 14-0 cushion and Albert Morris running at will, the Redskins, again, could have and should have beaten the Seahawks with Cousins in the game.

Below are several links to articles about the situation but my favorite was an article by Dan Graziano of ESPN.com.

Graziano wrote that there was a stadium full of people (and I was one of them) who could tell the Redskins’ offense was impotent with this shell of Griffin operating it. He started his piece by writing, “He should have come out of the game. It’s really that simple, and it’s not hindsight.

“Anybody who watched Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III hobble through the second and third quarters of his team’s season-ending 24-14 playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday at FedEx Field could see that (A) he was badly hurt and (B) he was hurting his team’s chances.”

To read more, please click here.

Other links:

Robert Griffin III knee injury diagnosis unclear

Knee injury brings painful end to brilliant season

Concern begins for Robert Griffin III

Robert Griffin III’s injury leaves so many questions

Is Redskins coach Mike Shanahan to blame?

Robert Griffin III responds to criticism

Alfred Morris and Robert Griffin III were about 10 years old the last time the Redskins won the NFC East title in 1999. The Redskins defeated the Dallas Cowboys Sunday night at home 28-18 in a game that Morris rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns and Griffin, still suffering from a leg injury, ran for a score. As a result, the Redskins will host Seattle Jan. 6 at 4:30 p.m. in the first round of the NFL playoffs.

It was the seventh straight victory for the Skins since falling to the Panthers at home in early November.

While there are many Redskins fans in the Triangle area, there are also a lot of Russell Wilson fans. Wilson quarterbacks the Seahawks. I’ve gotta think most of the country will be rooting for the Redskins in this one in part because Seattle is in the playoffs due to a bad replacement official’s call that wrongly gave them a win over Green Bay.

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Here’s what they are saying about the Redskins:

Redskins top Cowboys 28-18 for NFC East – Chicago Tribune

Washington Redskins beat Dallas Cowboys for NFC East – NFL.com

Rapid Reaction: Redskins 28, Cowboys 18 – ESPN

Redskins Top Cowboys to Gain Playoff Berth – Wall Street Journal blog

RG3 shines, Romo collapses in finale – Fox Sports

Alfred Morris, Robert Griffin spur Redskins to first NFC East title since 1999 – Yahoo Sports

Cowboys’ season comes to close with Romo’s 3 INTs– Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Washington Redskins fans sing a noisy, fitting tribute to rookie Alfred Morris – Washington Post

“With NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate Robert Griffin sidelined with a sprained knee, Washington Redskins backup QB Kirk Cousins passed for 329 yards and a pair of touchdowns to Leonard Hankerson in his first NFL start as the Redskins cruised to a 38-21 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.”
— Brian McIntyre, Yahoo! Sports

“Griffin’s playing status was in doubt all week before the Redskins surprisingly announced late Saturday night that Cousins would start. If the Browns thought they were getting a break, Cousins proved to be as challenging to stop as his more elusive and hyped teammate.”
— Associated Press

“Mike Shanahan drafted Kirk Cousins for a day like this. He wanted to establish stability at the Washington Redskins‘ quarterback position. And with star quarterback Robert Griffin III watching from the sideline with a sprained knee, Cousins delivered.”
— Rich Campbell, Washington Times

“His first start in the NFL couldn’t have gone much better, and Washington showed that drafting two quarterbacks in 2012 was absolutely the right call as they moved into a tie for first place in the NFC East. Let me say that again: the Redskins, mostly behind the injured Robert Griffin III and heroics from Cousins the past two weeks, are tied for first place in the NFC East with the Giants and Cowboys.”
— Josh Katzowitz, CBSSports.com

“They would have been doing all the same things, with the addition of the option if RG 3 was in the game. That looked like the Redskins offense. I’d like to credit Kirk. He did a nice job.”
— Pat Shurmur, Browns coach

“I’ve been preparing to go all season as if I had to play knowing I’m one play away. This isn’t my first rodeo. I did play a lot of football in the Big Ten. We started slow, but you’ve got to have character to dig deep. We didn’t get spooked by a slow start.”
— Kirk Cousins, Redskins QB

“I talked to him about being cool, calm and collected and not to freak out. He did a good job of staying poised and staying confident in there.”
— Robert Griffin, Redskins QB

“Cousins said he saw it as an opportunity to show he could start and win a game in the NFL — something he felt people may have had reason to doubt after he was drafted in the fourth round to be a backup.”
— Dan Graziano, ESPN.com

“Cousins helped put the Redskins on more secure footing in the NFC playoff race, and prevented the absence of rookie star Robert Griffin III from undoing the team’s season. But Cousins knows he’s still the understudy; he said he will step aside willingly whenever Griffin’s sprained knee heals enough for him to play.”
— Mark Maske, Washington Post

“He did great. He did a lot of great things. He passed for over 300 yards. It’s his first start. He wasn’t rattled at all. He made plays with his feet and with his arm. That’s all you can really ask for.”
— Pierre Garcon, Redskins wide receiver

“He’s got a lot of confidence. You can see that in practice. I did not say anything to him. I just told the guys that we stopped ourselves a couple times with penalties. Just relax. He got out of the pocket on that quarterback keep and threw a perfect strike to Hankerson. Not a lot of guys can make that read . . . He made a perfect throw. That kind of gets you started. We needed that play at that time.”
— Mike Shanahan, Redskins coach

“I had all the faith in the world in Kirk. I never doubted him at all. Kudos to him. He did one heck of a job of going out there and playing and helping us get this win.”
— Alfred Morris, Redskins runningback

“He threw a 54-yard score in the first quarter and engineered four TD drives in the second half. Most of all, he foiled the Browns all day with bootlegs and rollouts off perfectly-executed play-action.”
— Branson Wright, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer

Redskins rookie sensation Robert Griffin III suffered a Grade 1 sprain of the lateral collateral ligament in his right knee during the team’s 31-28 overtime victory over Baltimore. He is considered day to day but some experts are saying it would be a risk for him to play at Cleveland Sunday.

“Based on my experience, I wouldn’t be surprised if [the Redskins] protect him and don’t rush him back,” said Neal ElAttrache, an orthopedic surgeon, who performed knee surgery on Tom Brady a few years ago. “[With] the way he plays — he’s not a stationary quarterback — and the fact he has his whole career ahead of him, I would be surprised if they weren’t very careful with him and let this thing heal up.”

During a news conference Monday, Coach Mike Shanahan said the Redskins will do what’s in Robert’s best interests. “Usually when you do that, it’s the team’s best interests as well,” he said. “We’re not going to put him out there if we think he’s not completely healthy and he can’t do the things that help us win.”

The Redskins, who at 7-6 are solidly in the hunt for a playoff berth, need to win out to take the NFC East title. They may have turn to fellow rookie QB Kirk Cousins who after all led the Skins from behind with a touchdown pass and two-point run to tie the game at the end of regulation.

“It’s a next-man-up type of league. Kirk did a great job, just came in and it speaks of his character,” Redskins guard Chris Chester said. “He has the natural ability to lead as well. He came in, didn’t miss a beat and called the play and got us ready to go.”