A Step in the Right Direction by Lake Lewis

As a sports journalist I have had to take on the -not said oath- of not showing bias towards or leading on whom my favorite teams are.  Well if you have followed my radio show you will know that I am a Nittany Lion and Hoya (My Alma Mater’s) and a huge Washington Redskin fan (my hometown is DC).  Today I awoke to the sobering news of the untimely and unfortunate passing of Cincinnati Bengal Chris Henry.  The story surrounding his death is yet again another bad situation turned public.  The young man should be remembered as a testament that you can not judge a book by its cover.  I have one question regarding his death?  WHY IS THE MEDIA becoming the Supreme Court in our country?  For all intensive purposes Chris Henry had turned his life around and was becoming a sound man.  The media never focused on that aspect of his life until he was gone.  This seems so eerily similar to the passing of the late Sean Taylor of the Washington Redskins.  He was another victim of bad media scrutiny that would not uncover his better side until he was murdered.  Can we start to tell the stories of good faith and great deeds by athletes instead of tearing them down for any mistakes that are made?  Wake up my media brethren, its time to look at ourselves in the mirror.

The other news story that broke today in the DC area was that Vinnie Cerrato had resigned as the Executive Vice President of Football Operations for the Washington Redskins.  In other words, the de facto General Manager without General Manager credentials would not hold my beloved Redskins hostage any longer.  Sure Cerrato had drafted such players as TE Chris Cooley, S Sean Taylor, QB Jason Campbell and last years seemingly talented TE Fred Davis, and WR Devon Thomas and this year’s rookie sensation and future all-pro LB/DE Brian Orakpo.  But, he also helped orchestrait the acquisitions of high priced free agent busts such as WR Brandon Lloyd, S Adam Archuleta, DE Jason Taylor (trade with the Dolphins), and here is a name from the past RB Trung Canidate (trade with Rams).  He also had a pension for losing valuable draft picks and Redskins players such as S Ryan Clark (Pittsburgh), and LB Antonio Pierce (Giants).  There is another player that tells the story of how dysfunctional Cerrato’s regime was for me.  Jeremy Bridges who right now is playing really good football for the Arizona Cardinals at left tackle was a player who the Redskins decided to cut as one of their final pre-season moves.  If you have watched the Redskins over the past few years it is well documented that their offensive line albeit individually talented, has been on the decline with season ending injuries happening yearly.  Pro Bowlers Chris Samuels and Randy Thomas have had their seasons cut short the past two seasons so releasing an adequate replacement made no sense to me when Cerrato kept former first round bust Mike Williams who had been out of football for 4 years.

Placing all of the blame on Cerratto would be irresponsible of me so the Redskins Owner Daniel Snyder needs to eat some crow as well.  He has resisted for whatever reasons the idea of running this once proud franchise the way it was built by having an owner who is lavish and will spend money (Jack Kent Cook), a competent GM (Bobby Betherd and Charlie Casserly), and a coach whom patience would be needed to implement their own system (Joe Gibbs).  The hiring of Bruce Allen today is a great move for the Redskins in that it signals change that is more the blue print for all of the NFL’s successful franchises. They all have a “real” GM who can take the pressure off of the head coach and can draft with a vision of the future.  Not a quick fix that was always the approach of Cerrato.

Already the questions being asked are;

Is Bruce Allen going to bring in current ESPN Monday Night Football Analyst and former Super Bowl winning coach John Gruden?

Is he going to possibly look at former Bronco mastermind Mike Shanahan?

Or, maybe bring in a young gem in the making?

What is he going to do with current lame duck coach Jim Zorn?

Will he keep fan-boy punching bag quarterback Jason Campbell?

Will he get rid of high priced running back Clinton Portis?

Can Sherman Lewis keep his job and continue to draft up the offensive playbook?

Can Allen himself prove that he can run an organization because he has some critics who are quick to admonish that he won with Tony Dungy’s players in Tampa?

To me he could bring in Santa Clause –  Uh Oh, I have not even started Christmas shopping – to coach and play and to me it would not matter at this point because for once WE are  having a reasonable conversation about the future moves of the Redskins with a view of the future in sight.

Speaking of the future, I know what will be must see TV! That would be Monday night when John Gruden and Monday Night Football come to town for the Redskins/Giants game. Actually they come in on Friday for pre-game production so can you believe what the air will feel like when Gruden has to interview Jim Zorn?  Wow can you say chilly.  Maybe my former ESPN Radio colleague Mike Tirico or Jaws Jaworski will at some point in the game ask Gruden “so what do you think of your team?”  I know what I think!

HALE TO MY THE REDSKINS.

Lake Lewis is the President and CEO of the Sports Journey Broadcast Network.  He was a host on ESPN Radio 1060 Orlando, ESPN Radio 1080 Melbourne and the Drive Time host ESPN Radio 1240 Maryland and WMET 1160 in Washington DC