By

Jason Reid

Safeties will be playing it safe less often

By Paul Tenorio  |

By Paul Tenorio  |

By Rick Maese

Washington Post Staff Writer

Monday, September 21, 2009

On the Washington Redskins’ two biggest defensive plays, safety Chris Horton found himself right in the middle of the action. He made great reads and executed great plays.

On the team’s worst defensive play, though, Horton was right there, too, watching as Rams running back Steven Jackson scampered deep into Redskins territory.

“His game’s improved, but I wish he had a great read on that 58-yard run, too,” defensive coordinator Greg Blache said. “That’s his gap. That was on him.”

Such is life for the second-year safety — as capable of making a game-changing play that helps his team as he is of one that hurts. In Sunday’s 9-7 win over the Rams, though, the good outweighed the bad.

With the Redskins protecting a narrow lead with 13 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Horton single-handedly halted the Rams’ drive, forcing a St. Louis fumble with the Rams just five yards from the end zone.

The Redskins’ safeties had noticed similar plays on tape. The tight end leans one way. The quarterback’s eyes go straight to the outside wide receiver. That wideout runs a hair inside.

Horton said he read the play instantly when it began to unfold two minutes into the final quarter. St. Louis quarterback Marc Bulger hit his top wide receiver, Donnie Avery. Cornerback Carlos Rogers was a foot behind and off balance, so he wasn’t in position to make the play. But he didn’t need to. Horton jumped, hitting Avery squarely and forcing the ball loose. Rogers was nearby to recover the fumble for the Redskins, halting the Rams’ drive and giving Washington possession.

“I was just running to the ball and thinking to myself, ‘Get this guy down,’ ” Horton said. ” ‘Make them kick a field goal. We don’t want to give up seven points.’ “

“I guess it was the way I hit him,” he said. “I wasn’t trying to force a fumble. But I forced it. It was just me running to the ball. Whenever I run to the ball, something good always happens for me.”

Watching from the sideline, fellow safety Reed Doughty saw the play unfold and knew something big was about to happen.

“Any time you’ve got a player running inside-out on the ball and you’re running hard, you have a chance to make a big play,” Doughty said. “I think all of us safeties like to headhunt and like to hit. He weighs 220 pounds, so when he hits, you’re going to feel it.”

As they prepared to return to St. Louis, the Rams were still smarting from the effects of the play. The Redskins took possession and St. Louis didn’t get even a whiff of the red zone after that.

“DB made a good play on the ball. I know better than that,” Avery said. “Should have had it high and tight. It’s all on me. I lost it for the team.”

Horton stood out on a defense that held St. Louis to 243 yards of offense and a single touchdown. Washington was No. 4 in the league a season ago in yardage allowed, but entered this season determined to make more big plays — the exact sort that Horton came up with down by the goal line on Sunday. It was the game’s lone turnover, but it also might have been the difference between a win and a loss for the Redskins.

The offense is eventually “going to score points,” Horton said. “It’s just one of those things where as a defense, we don’t want to allow people to score points. If we can win every game, hey, we’re going to try to win every game, regardless of what our offense does.”

On their final possession, the Rams were trapped inside their 10-yard line. Bulger threw three straight incompletions and had no choice but to try to convert fourth and 10 from their 4-yard line. Working out of zone coverage, Horton found Avery again, this time streaking down the sideline. The coverage was tight and Horton stayed between Avery and the ball the whole way. It fell incomplete, the Rams’ final chance at scoring.

“I was just thinking, ‘Whatever you do, don’t let this guy catch the ball,’ ” Horton said. ” ‘Or get a pass interference.’ “

On Sundays, for at least one play, Horton still feels like a rookie. Fortunately for the Redskins’ defense, on most of them he rarely plays like one.

“At the start of the game, I still got my jitters going,” Horton said. “But after that first play, everything slows down.”

A seventh-round draft pick out of UCLA and the surprise of last year’s rookie class, Horton solidified his role in the starting lineup during the preseason and is quickly asserting himself as a potential impact player on a defensive unit that has no shortage of talent. Even as coaches rave that Doughty is playing the best football of his career, Horton is the one who plays the majority of downs.

“Horton came in here with the right attitude,” linebacker London Fletcher said. “That was one of the most pleasant things about him: his attitude. He had a great sense of humbleness. Not all rookies are like that. Guys like Horton, you want them to do well. And they tend to do well because of their attitude.”

Blache says it’s that eagerness and work ethic that will allow Horton to learn from Sunday’s biggest mistake. Starting from the Rams 16-yard line, Jackson emerged from a pile of jerseys, sprinting with the ball. He zipped through Horton and didn’t stop until he was pushed out of bounds at the Redskins 22-yard line.

“He’s a good running back,” Horton said of Jackson. “He’s one of the best in this league. He just pounded me. It was one of those things where, hey, it happens. But I don’t let that one play dictate how I’m going to come out and finish the game.”

Blache said Horton acts like a professional and rarely repeats mistakes.

“Chris is doing a great job,” Blache said. “You can see that Chris is growing up. But I like to say, there’s good and there’s bad each day we go through this.”

I’m 25, I live in Cleveland Park in DC and I am a consultant in Tysons Corner with Project Performance Corp. Outside of work I play on several softball and soccer teams and have been involved with several community service organizations, including Leadership Fairfax.

The Redskins have always been my team in the NFL, sort of by default, since I grew up in Roanoke, Virginia. I remember my childhood barber had a barber chair in the shape of a Skins helmet, which made getting haircuts a really exciting and memorable event. Moving to DC increased my support of the Redskins exponentially, and I am a fan for life.

I was lucky to be raised by great parents, who understood and promoted the value of sport. I’ve played on sports teams since I can remember, and played soccer through college, where I was captain at Washington and Lee University. It’s a great little DIII school you might never have heard of. My dad played football there, too, and is still football-obsessed. And even though I chose to focus on soccer, I’ve always been a big fan of real American football. His stories of his high school and college playing days taught me the importance of commitment and dedication on the field.

I have a younger sister and older brother, who both also went to W&L. My brother is a huge Redskins fan, too, and he helped introduce me to the local society of Redskins fans.

I have always been a fan of the underdog, which is the main reason I have maintained an interest in Chris Horton. Even though he’s shed the underdog persona, it was great watching his rise from seventh round afterthought to starter in a few short weeks. I’ve also had a fondness for defensive positions in sports since I was a kid, and I usually liked being in these roles better than in offensive positions.

Learning about Chris’s unsung commitment to the game during the season and his humanitarian efforts off the field was refreshing in a league that arguably has a few too many self-centered players. His example was something positive to focus on, not to mention his explosive style of play.

I have never written for a blog, nor do I have much journalistic experience, but I have always been a fan of writing. It’s something I aspire to do well. But most of all, I am humbled to have the opportunity to cover Chris Horton and the Redskins this season. This is going to be incredibly fun.

]]> http://www.predator48.com/?feed=rss2&p=544 http://www.predator48.com/?p=518 http://www.predator48.com/?p=518#comments Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:40:26 +0000 sbaker http://www.predator48.com/?p=518

06:16 PM PDT on Wednesday, August 19, 2009

The Associated Press

ASHBURN, VA. - The projected starting defensive lineup for the Washington Redskins’ season opener includes six players acquired as free agents, all signed to impressive, big-money contracts.

There are also four blue-chip draft picks, three taken in the first round and one in the second. No wonder there’s a lot of confidence in Washington that this could be the best defense in the league.

Then there’s Chris Horton. A seventh-round draft pick in 2008 out of UCLA, with a contract so modest it was worthy of the NFL’s version of pity pay last year — a $342,197 performance bonus because his playing time was so disproportionate to his salary.

A strong safety determined not to be the weak link.

“Last year I was just trying to come in and learn as much as possible as quickly as possible and get on the field in some kind of way,” Horton said. “This year I know the defense, I know everything, and it’s about making plays, do whatever I’ve got to do to make those same plays I made last year.”

Only three players were taken lower than UCLA’s Horton in last year’s draft. The rookie with the plentiful dreadlocks made a good impression with a pair of sacks in the first exhibition game, earned a roster spot, then had one of those out-of-nowhere performances in his first regular-season start. With Reed Doughty out with a stomach virus, Horton started Week 2 vs. New Orleans and snared three turnovers: two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

When Doughty was later lost for the season with a back injury, Horton became the regular starter. He still has the job.

“I don’t think it’s a fluke that he’s our starting strong safety,” Coach Jim Zorn said. “I think he’s a football-savvy guy. He’s not afraid to hit. I think he’s still learning, but he’s so much more comfortable this year, and he’s going to start Game 1 instead moving into that. Drafting a guy that low and have him come in and be a solid player is pretty remarkable.”

Coaches tempered their praise of Horton during his rapid ascent last year, noting that he didn’t have full command of the defense. His takeaways were more opportunistic than anything, and his production tailed off in November.

“He went through a drought; that’s the rookie wall they talk about,” safeties coach Steve Jackson said. “But he’s doing things a little bit different as far as taking care of his body, doing things more mentally opposed to physically.”

Part of the mental work is knowing the playbook. As Horton noted: “I wouldn’t be in the right spot always at the right time” last year.

“It becomes being able to anticipate plays versus reacting to plays,” Jackson said. “Now he’s better at anticipating things because there’s only so many ways you can run the ball, so many different ways you can throw it. When you’ve seen it for 800-and-some plays, it’s not like you’ve seen it eight plays, which was the case last year.”

With a starting job comes the inevitable nickname. A fan suggested that Horton call himself “Predator.” Teammates liked it, and now Horton offers “Predator48″ T-shirts on his Web site.

“I took it and ran with it,” Horton said, “and it became a big hit.”

But nothing about Horton stands out like his hair. He might have the least glamorous resume on the defense, but the lush dreadlocks are the envy of teammates and coaches.

“I love his hair,” said Jackson, removing his cap to reveal a bald head. “They say he has the most luxurious hair on the Washington Redskins.”

Brennan, trying to overtake Todd Collins as the Redskins’ backup quarterback, made it through the first 12 days of camp without throwing a single interception, a fact that he mentioned to the Redskins’ defensive backs on a daily basis.

“That was my way of talking trash,” Brennan said. “‘For God’s sake, will you guys pick me?!”

Brennan and cornerback Fred Smoot got to talking and the pair worked out a deal. If Brennan could get through all of training camp interception-free, the defensive backs would give him $20 for each day. But if Brennan threw an interception, he’d have to pull out a crisp Benjamin Franklin to whichever player picked him off.

“I just kept telling them over and over that I want to get that monkey off my back before we went to Baltimore,” said Brennan, noting that he’d rather throw his first interception in practice rather than a preseason game.

On Tuesday, the team was going 9-on-9 when Brennan faced a rush and scrambled outside. He lost track of coverage and threw the ball about 10 yards downfield. That’s where Chris Horton stepped in front of the pass, catching the ball mid-stride and making Brennan’s wallet a little bit lighter.

“It actually put a smile on my face,” Brennan said later. “Part of being a quarterback is making mistakes and bouncing back. I’ve taken a lot of chances out here. I’ve had a good little camp, but I hadn’t throw a pick yet.

“So now, in the end, I guess Chris Horton and the defense get a nice little afternoon lunchbreak on me.”

By Rick Maese  |  August 11, 2009; 12:02 PM ET

Examiner Sports Columnist

August 9, 2009

The Predator is back.

Washington Redskins safety Chris Horton is ready to hunt. Last year’s seventh-round sensation became an instant cult figure with three turnovers in his first start. A blogger hung the nickname on Horton and it has more than stuck. He now sells merchandise on predator48.com.

“People yell, ‘Hey, Predator, Predator,’” Horton said. “It’s fun. I enjoy making people happy. All [the movie character] did was hunt and that’s how I play football. I’m just looking to hunt.”

There’s some truth to the moniker. Horton has a swagger — a quiet demeanor in dreadlocks daring to be tested. Horton is an equal member of a secondary that stars DeAngelo Hall and LaRon Landry, but doesn’t drop off with Horton.

Horton has always been a ballhawk with a penchant for being in the right place. His two interceptions and fumble recovery against New Orleans helped him earn both NFC Defensive Player of the Week and Defensive Rookie of the Month honors. He led the team with three interceptions overall.

A franchise known for weak drafts, especially in the late rounds, found the most productive rookie last season with its final selection. Horton was also the lowest drafted player to make the Pro Football Weekly All-Pro Team.

Ironically, Horton was never truly comfortable in the scheme. Good things just came to him.

“Last year I was all over the place,” he said. “Sometimes I was in the right place, sometimes I wasn’t.

“This year I know the defense so let’s find a way to make plays. I’m definitely not thinking a lot when I’m out there. I’ve slowed the game down and now it’s just making sure I’m always in the right spot.”

It would easy for Horton to get a big head. He wouldn’t be the first young player to believe the hype. But Horton merely needs to remember he was drafted 249th overall last year. Former starter Reed Doughty also is having a good training camp after losing his job to Horton because of back problems that required surgery.

“I’m not going to let down,” Horton said. “It’s a good start. Now I just have to better my craft. I have a lot more to do and show.”

Meanwhile, the Predator is stalking. Horton doesn’t enter the field in character, but the Alien better not cross him should the two villains make another movie.

“I never liked the animal,” joked Horton.

Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or e-mail rsnider@washingtonexaminer.com.

By Rick Maese

Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Safeties coach Steve Jackson considers the Washington Redskins defensive backs to be ardent students of the game, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that during their spare time, some players have started studying film of the New York Giants, their Week 1 opponent.

This Story

“It’s what I love about these guys. When the season — it’s over — they don’t just shut it off. It’s part of them,” Jackson said. “They would like nothing more than to put that Riddell on every day of the year, all day long. Walk around, drive their car to and from work, do it all with that helmet on.”

But what has Jackson and other coaches especially excited is the development of their soft-spoken second-year strong safety. The continuing education of Chris Horton, though, calls for a new classroom this training camp.

As a seventh-round draft pick in 2008 — only three players out of 252 draft picks were selected lower — Horton entered camp a year ago relatively unnoticed. During his unexpectedly productive rookie season, Horton was a bookworm. During team meetings, he’d scribble notes, then go back to his room and stay up late studying everything.

“We’d meet on certain defenses, and I’d have three pages of notes on one defense,” Horton said. “Coach would walk by and say: ‘Man, you need to stop writing that whole time. You wrote way too much. If you take all that to the field, the game will move too fast.’ ”

In Year 2 with increased expectations, he’s still taking note of the details, but he’s doing more of his learning on the practice field than in the meeting room.

It’s an important change for the Redskins, who are counting on Horton and the secondary to contribute more high-impact, game-changing plays this season. As strong as the defensive unit seemed at times — only six teams allowed fewer passing yards — it tallied only 18 takeaways. Only two teams in the league had fewer.

Addressing this shortcoming will be a major goal for the new season, and a player such as Horton, who often finds himself near the ball, has been preparing all offseason so when he’s on the field, his reactions are more instinctual.

“I used to be all over the place. I’d just be running around like I had no clue. I knew what I was doing, but I wasn’t really slowing the game down. I was thinking too much,” said Horton, who led the Redskins last year with three interceptions. “Now I go to meeting rooms, try to focus on a couple of points and stick with that. So when you get out there, you can see the game better. I can see it all happening now and just kind of know what to do.”

Aiding Horton in that preparation is the same man who helped prepare him for the starting lineup last season — Reed Doughty, the man whose job Horton took in Week 2 last year. Doughty went down with the flu, and Horton came up with the starting job.

A year later, when it comes to football, the two are perfect study partners. They talk technique, formations and coverages year-round.

“We have very similar personalities,” Doughty said. “We’re very meticulous, we’re very analytical, we want to know how the defense works — not just what our job is. So we have the same mind-set, and we get along great.”

So in the weeks and months before their Nov. 15 game against the Broncos, Horton thought they also should study some film of the New England Patriots, where Josh McDaniels formerly coached.

“From the day he got here, you could tell he wanted to do everything right,” Doughty said. “He was never just trying to get by.”

A year ago, Horton had no choice but to outwork others. As a seventh-round pick, nearly an afterthought in the draft, no one knew whether he’d even earn a roster spot. Before long, though, he proved to be the only one of the team’s 10-player draft class to contribute significantly.

While Horton’s enthusiasm raised eyebrows when he arrived as an unheralded safety out of UCLA, coaches are even more impressed this year, after he spent the offseason watching film, studying coverages and picking his coach’s brain on how he could improve.

Though Horton’s role in the defense and in the locker room won’t significantly change this season, coaches do anticipate a slow shifting of responsibilities in the near future.

“He’s what I’d consider a football-savvy guy,” Coach Jim Zorn said. “He really likes to play, he understands the concepts. The guys around him notice that, and I suspect that at some point soon, things will flip, and he’ll be one of the real leaders on this team. So I have real high expectations of him, as I know he does of himself.”

Horton said he’s brought the same work ethic and enthusiasm into camp this year. The main difference is that everyone actually knows his name this time around, and he has a solid foundation on which to build. As a rookie, everything was new, from the routines to the drills to the plays.

“I don’t have to spend near as much time trying to learn the playbook,” he said. “Before it was like, ‘Oh, I got to know everything about every defense.’ I know all of that. I’ve been here a year. Now it’s just learning more of the offensive stuff.”

The more he understands what offenses will be throwing at him, the better Horton can position himself on the field. The differences can be subtle, but anticipation is key to his position.

Doughty remembers back to Horton’s first game in an NFL jersey, last year’s preseason opener against Indianapolis. Buried on the depth chart, Horton registered a pair of sacks, and suddenly fans and league observers took notice.

“But he was unblocked,” Doughty said, “so that might’ve impressed the media, but that didn’t impress me as much. What impresses me is when he reads the coverage and puts himself in the right place. Maybe he doesn’t even make the tackle, but he puts himself in the right position. I think he’s able to do that much better now that he’s got a few games under his belt.”

Jackson is not worried about Horton’s preparedness, his understanding of the games or even his quarterback reads. When the season starts — and especially as it progresses — Jackson said he wants to see a more consistent Horton than a year ago.

“Last year he kind of faded as the season went on, like most rookies do,” Jackson said. “We needed him to be stronger, to finish the season off the way he started this year.”

Though Doughty has looked impressive early in camp, Horton is expected to enter the season as the starting strong safety, the team’s third since Sean Taylor’s death from a gunshot wound in November 2007. Horton said he feels pressure entering a second year, but it’s surpassed by his own motivation to improve on last season.

“Nothing is guaranteed,” Horton said. “I was named the starter, but you got to come out here and always play every day like your back is against the wall, like you’re always striving for something. That’s the only way I know how to play.”

The defensive line, where Andre Carter, Cornelius Griffin, Albert Haynesworth and Phillip Daniels are likely starting, backed up by Renaldo Wynn, Brian Orakpo on third downs, Lorenzo Alexander, Kedric Golston and Anthony Montgomery.

Other guys in the mix for a roster spot include Rob Jackson, Alex Buzbee and Antonio Dixon, among others, but for the most part the roles along the line are pretty well defined.

Safety is set, with LaRon Landry and Chris Horton the hands down starters and Reed Doughty and Kareem Moore backing up. Lendy Holmes was mentioned a few times in OTAs and is worth keeping an eye on in preseason, along with practice squad holdover Michael Grant.

Chris Cooley is a Pro Bowl tight end, and Fred Davis is another of those 2008 second-round pass catchers who must be more involved in Year Two. Behind them is Todd Yoder, with Robert Agnone looking to beat out the veteran for a roster spot.

Now having gone through most of the roster and looked at competitions for different spots, the next question I had was: What will be the major story lines for the Redskins entering this season?

Some that immediately come to mind include:

The health of the offensive line — The second-half collapse last season came in part because an aging O-line was hit by injury and struggled late. Will the Redskins avoid the trouble this season? Going along with that, how much will the lack of action this offseason at right tackle come back to haunt the Redskins?

Campbell, wide receivers and the offense — Jason Campbell’s year is going to be one of the biggest story lines of 2009 for so many reasons, from his tumultuous offseason to the fact there are heavy expectations for him to make a major leap. But Campbell’s success also will hinge on the development of a true No. 2 wide receiver, be it Malcolm Kelly, Devin Thomas, Roydell Williams or someone else, not to mention the five guys we talked about above. And Jim Zorn’s offense in Year Two is under just as much scrutiny as Campbell, especially with big name coaches looking to get back into the game in 2010.

Portis vs. Zorn — In June it already made headlines. June! Last season Portis hit the airwaves to criticize the first-year coach. And you’d be naive to think the team’s star running back and Zorn are best buddies. So will this friction continue to play out in 2009? What impact will it have if it does?

Strong-side linebacker — Maybe Brian Orakpo at SAM turns into a success, but I still lean toward the idea of wanting my first-round defensive end to . . . play defensive end. Surely teams will go after this position early on with different looks and matchups, and though the Redskins defense continues to be able to mix and match players and hide weaknesses, it’s definitely worth watching.

Albert Haynesworth — He signed a record contract during free agency, and his career probably will be remembered for what he does from here on out. It starts from Day One in Washington, with fans and prognosticators around the country watching to see how the star defensive tackle will do after securing such a big paycheck.

Other thoughts?