Brandon Banks

Brandon Banks Sighting

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For those Washington fans that may not know, former Redskins kick returner Brandon Banks is now earning a paycheque in the Canadian Football League. After three years with Washington, Banks made the jump to Canadian Football last year, and will probably never look back.

This week he signed a 3-year deal with the Hamilton Tiger Cats. Banks spent last year with Hamilton, where he nearly stole the Grey Cup in the waning moments with a 90-yard punt return, unceremoniously called back for a penalty. That close call, and the promise of job security, made re-signing with the TiCats an easy decision for Banks.

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How the option helps the Redskins

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I was rewatching some of Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings and wanted to make a quick note of how the misdirection from the triple option can fool opposing defenses.

This play began with 6:06 left to play in the first half against a very solid Minnesota defense.

Clearly we all know Robert Griffin III is the straw that stirs the Redskins’ drink. Here is visual evidence that shows how his amazing athletic ability helps fool one of the better defenses in the league. This is what happens when you have the right pieces involved along with the ability to mislead based off of that talent.

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Helped and Hobbled Causes: Colts

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After the Redskins impressive 30-17 dismantling of the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, Redskins coaches got a further look into how the Redskins 53-man roster is going to break down in a few weeks. Here are a few guys that either helped or hobbled their causes:

Chris Wilson – had the best game of any Washington Redskin on Saturday, at least in my opinion. After sitting out 2011 and not playing football, Wilson looks hell bent on being employed in 2012. On top of Wilson’s sack that resulted in a safety, he also had three quarterback hurries and seem to be wreaking havoc in the Colts backfield nearly every time he rushed. If he wasn’t on the fringe of people’s 53-man before Saturday, he should be there firmly now. Wilson’s raw pass rush ability is very valuable depth, especially with Brian Orakpo knicked with an injury to the same area that limited him last year.

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Game Thoughts: Bears

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I absolutely hate preseason – I tweeted as much during the game – it’s like watching four Injury Bowls in a row. Unfortunately for the Redskins, their 33-31 loss to the Bears was no exception – Brian Orakpo and Brandon Meriweather left the game with first half injuries. MRIs for both players will likely tell a better story this week. Other than that, it was a typical preseason game – filled with highlights and lowlights. Here are some observations:

A lot of people were excited by Brandon Banks 91-yard punt return for a touchdown, and rightfully so, it was an exciting play. But many people in Redskins Nation seemed to believe that him doing so, guaranteed himself a roster spot. I don’t think so. Obviously, the return won’t hurt his claim any, but the Redskins already know that Banks can be a great return man – after all, it’s his third consecutive preseason with a return TD. The Redskins coaching staff told Banks he would have to take a wide receiver spot if he was going to make this team – returning a punt doesn’t do that. Banks definitely flashes brilliant play-making abilities at times, but will it be enough to make this team in 2012?

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Who Popped, Who Dropped?

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The Washington Redskins kicked off their 2012 season last night, with a 7-6 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo. Pre-season games are usually littered with vanilla play-calling, and vanilla packages, but that doesn’t mean that players can’t help or hurt their chances of making a football team. Here are some guys that may have tipped the scale in one direction or another last night.

Popped

Robert Griffin III

Hard to believe that a guy riding the top of a see saw could actually raise his value even more, but the kid from Baylor just continues to prove that he truly has what it takes to not only play in this league, but perhaps one day be special. It isn’t that he did anything physically that blew the doors off or anything, but he most certainly did not look like some rookie tossed into the fire either. It’s hard to peg whether his poise, or his leadership was more impressive, but there is absolutely nothing about the number 10 to suggest that this is his first year in the league – other than public record of course.

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Griffin Just Has ‘It’

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Did you catch the nice blog on NFL.com about Robert Griffin III shooting a Subway commercial in Texas?

I joke, but I’m just not really sure why the piece led with that tidbit, when the title and crux of an otherwise good piece, is that a bunch of Redskins are heading down to Texas for a friendly game of pass and catch with their rookie quarterback.

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Brandon Banks: From Kansas State to Redskins Park, But What’s Next?

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I first saw Banks in a game between Nebraska and Kansas State. It was November 15, 2008. In That game Banks returned a kick 98 yards for a TD. That kickoff return tied for the fifth-longest in school history. Oddly enough, on the other side of the ball Nebraska’s Niles Paul was busy garnering his own attention as a wide receiver and special teams player. He returned 2 kicks for 38 yards in that game as well as recovered a Deon Murphy fumbled punt which led to a Nebraska TD. Oh yeah, and Roy Helu rushed for 72 yards and 2 touchdowns.

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Review of Washington Redskins vs. San Francisco 49ers

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The Washington Redskins lost to the San Francisco 49ers 19-11 yesterday. 8 of those 11 points for the Redskins came in trash time when the 49ers weren’t playing a pressure-based defense.

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Redskins v. Steelers: Helped and Hurt

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The Washington Redskins had an impressive debut with their 16-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday night. Sure it’s only the preseason, but not only did the Redskins earn the win, there were plenty of performances to be encouraged by.

Basically preseason games boil down to one important, and simple concept – evaluation. So here’s my look at the guys who helped themselves, and the guys that may have hurt themselves.

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