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(courtesy photo)

Back in September of 2008, rookie safety Chris Horton made a lasting impression in his first career start with the Washington Redskins.

In a Week 2 matchup, the New Orleans Saints committed three turnovers. All three ended up in the hands of Horton, who was thrust into the starting lineup only after an illness forced Reed Doughty out of the lineup.

The seventh-round draft pick was all over the field – recovering a fumble and intercepting Saints quarterback Drew Brees twice during Washington’s 29-24 victory. The effort was impressive enough that Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Blache borrowed a phrase from hockey, dubbing Horton’s feat a “hat trick.”

That week, Horton was given the nickname “The Predator” by a high schooler who happens to be my next-door neighbor. I posted something here on the website and, from that moment on, the nickname stuck.

Everywhere you look, whether in Sports Illustrated articles or on Horton’s personal website, his nickname of “The Predator” can be found.

Now, here’s where things get interesting.

Last month, nearly two full years later, Redskins receiver Devin Thomas took time out of his busy offseason schedule of modeling, appearing in music videos and hanging out with former Dancin’ with the Stars contestants to go see the new “Predators” remake, starring Adrien Brody.

Apparently the third-year receiver liked the movie, because he went on Twitter as soon as the movie and began referring to himself of “The Predator.” When fans pointed out that one of his teammates already had that nickname, Thomas posted the following:

“im the real predator chris just has the dreads!”

With that in mind, I caught up with Thomas to address the situation and to see why he felt, after two years, he should take over rights to the nickname. I mean, it was my website that got this whole thing started anyway.

“You shouldn’t have given him that nickname,” Thomas said. “The man never watches the movies. I have ‘The Predator’ on my ribs. The ribs!?! Who gets ‘The Predator’ tattooed on their ribs unless they’re really about ‘The Predator?’

“I’m about ‘The Predator,’” he continued. “I don’t have the dreads. He has the dreads, yes. So he might look like ‘The Predator.’ But when it comes to the real name, the movie, the concept of Dutch, Dillon, Billy, Poncho, Hawkins and all of the characters from the first movie – that’s me. I’m ‘The Predator.’ I ain’t got time to bleed.”

Have you talked to Horton about this? Do we need to set up something so you two can talk this out?

“If you want to,” Thomas said. “We talked about it a year or two ago when ‘The Predator’ stuff first popped up, and he didn’t really know about the movies. So I was already a little upset back then. He got the nickname ‘The Predator’ because of the dreads, but he doesn’t really know about ‘The Predator.’”

Apparently this beef has escalated to the point that teammates are being asked to pick sides.

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It’s been a while since anyone has heard from Washington Redskins safety Chris “The Predator” Horton.

After a surprisingly solid rookie campaign put Horton on the map, his sophomore season was less than desirable for the UCLA Bruin. Thanks largely to a toe injury, Horton saw action in just eight games in 2009.

While he’s still not 100 percent, Horton is working himself back into action slowly but surely. And like many of his teammates, Horton’s encouraged by what he’s seen so far this offseason. The addition of general manager Bruce Allen, head coach Mike Shanahan and defensive coordinator Jim Haslett has given players like Horton a reason for optimism heading into next season.

“Just look at what guys in this scheme have been able to accomplish,” he said.

But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, Horton simply wants to get back onto the field full time and do his best to help the Redskins win football games.

“When I come back, I might be the fifth safety,” Horton said. “I might start there, but I know one thing – I ain’t gonna finish there.”

Which is exactly the kind of mentality these coaches want to see from their players. With that mindset and plenty of hard work and determination, Horton could be back on the field sooner rather than later for the burgundy and gold.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Times are tough for the Washington Redskins. After losing to yet another doormat, head coach Jim Zorn and friends find themselves at the center of the storm.

A Redskins team that started 6-2 last season has crashed hard – losing 10 out of their last 14 games. As the 2009 season quickly spirals out on control, there’s a sense of hopelessness surrounding the entire organization and it’s fanbase.

With losses to bottom dwellers like Detroit, Carolina and now Kansas City, folks have one question on their mind – how did it get to this?

“From my standpoint, I look at it and take full responsibility,” said Zorn in his post-game press conference. “I am the head football coach. Nobody has more responsibility than I do. That is the way I look at it. I have got to come up with answers and I will. I think our coaches are working hard and I have confidence in what they are doing. Our players really care. We had a real good after-game meeting and it was to the point. It is going to be a very hard week. Last week I thought that it was as hard as it was going to get, but it just got harder.”

And that’s what Zorn said prior to the announcement that he would no longer handle playcalling duties. Redskins players hear Zorn week after week, as he tries to shoulder the blame for all of the team’s deficiencies, and they can’t help but feel sorry for him and the situation they’ve put him in.

“You know, it’s tough,” said defensive end Andre Carter. “Coach Zorn said he’s got to figure out how to help the offense. But we told him, it’s on us as players. He can make the calls, but it’s on us – on both sides of the ball – to execute. Coach Zorn is a great coach. We enjoy him – his presence, his jokes, his long stories – I mean, he’s a great guy. We’re coming in tomorrow as if he’s going to still be here. We can’t control what’s going to happen up top. But we can control how we play.”

Redskins receiver Malcolm Kelly took it one step further.

“I feel really sorry for the man,” Kelly said. “It’s almost like a quarterback and a coach are the same. If a team is losing, those are the first two people they’re going to point a finger at. It doesn’t matter if nothing around them is going right, they always take the blame. But a lot of the time, he shouldn’t take the blame. It should fall on the guys out there playing football. I feel really sorry for him though, because it’s a “show me” type league and they want to see us win. They’re going to say what they’re going to say and tear him down, but we want him back.”

The bottom line is – football isn’t very fun when you’re struggling as badly as the Redskins are.

“I think this week’s been really tough for us,” said tight end Chris Cooley. “I think the last few have been because we’ve put in so much work and there are such high expectations of this team. Not just from the media or our fanbase, but from inside. We expect a lot, and to keep losing is rough. I know it’s hard on a lot of guys and especially on the staff. We’ve just got to keep working. I know I’m going to, and I count on my teammates to do the same.”

Regardless of expectations, for the third time this season a previously winless team got its first victory of the season at the expense of the Redskins. How the hell does that happen?

“I’m really at a loss for words,” said safety Reed Doughty. “I don’t feel like we’re a 2-4 team. I look at how we started off last year and what we did the year before, and now, I’m just dumbfounded. Somehow, we’re just not putting it all together. I don’t know what changes are going to be made, but hopefully we can get on a roll.”

But in order for this team to get on any sort of roll, some serious soul searching is in order. Not just with the players, but with coaches and even management. Until then, the Redskins will likely suffer the same fate as they have against the Lions, the Panthers and the Chiefs.

“That’s why it’s so frustrating,” said safety Chris “The Predator” Horton. “We know we should have come out and beat this team. Every man needs to go home and look in the mirror and say ‘I need to do better.’ Even if you had a great game, you need to see what you can do to help this team win games.”

Everyone on the roster should realize exactly what’s at stake now. We’re not talking about wins and losses. We’re not talking about playing for pride. We’re talking about people losing jobs if things don’t get better in a hurry.

Regardless of who is calling the plays or who is taking the snaps or even who is on the offensive line, the Redskins need better results. If not, it’s only a matter of time before sweeping changes are made.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

This has been an up-and-down season for Washington Redskins safety Chris “The Predator” Horton, to say the least.

In the Week 1 loss to the New York Giants, Horton was benched in the second half, even though he finished the game second on the team in tackles, with nine. No explanation has been given.

One week later, on third-and-goal against the St. Louis Rams, Horton caused a fourth-quarter fumble that cornerback Carlos Rogers recovered to preserve the 9-7 win in the team’s home opener.

During Week 3, Horton was whistled on a 47-yard pass interference call in the deciding moments of the stomach-punch loss to the Detroit Lions. Adding insult to injury, it was then announced that Horton would be removed from the starting lineup in favor of Reed Doughty.

This week, defensive end Jeremy Jarmon caused a fumble with a pivotal third-down strip and Horton pounced on the loose football to hold off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That means that, even though Horton has been relegated to a reserve role, he’s made the play to seal both Redskins victories this season.

“It was just one of those things,” Horton said. “One of our linemen got a hand on the ball and when it came out; I was just running to the football. I truly believe that when I go to the ball, good things happen for me.

“As far as starting, yeah, I was a little disappointed,” said Horton. “But my job here is to do whatever I can to help this team win. Whether it’s me starting or Reed, I know I’m going to get playing time, and when I’m in there, I’m going to do my job. I’m not sitting around like, “Aw, man. I’m not starting, so I don’t have anything to look forward to.’ Guys are still counting on me.”

If you keep making these clutch fourth-quarter plays, you’re only making it tougher for coaches to keep you off the field, right?

“I’m always going to try and make it hard for them,” he said. “I’m going to come out each week, practice hard and compete. If every game from here on out Reed is the starter and I’m the backup, then so be it. I’m going to live with it, come out and give it my all and continue to make plays.”

We’ve got to ask you about an ugly situation involving a blogger on your website calling out Greg Blache, Albert Haynesworth and DeAngelo Hall. Can you explain what the hell happened with that?

“I still haven’t seen what was written,” Horton said. “But to sum it up, I had a contest for fans during the preseason to pick my in-season blogger. We found a guy who did a great job in the preseason, and now, obviously he said some things that I don’t feel that way about. It’s his opinion, but at the same time, once I got word of it I had it taken down immediately. That’s not how I feel, and that’s not the kind of attitude I want to promote.”

Hopefully this is something your blogger will learn from, because something like this is only going to cause an unnecessary distraction to a team already struggling for wins.

“Hopefully,” he said. “Because if not, he definitely won’t be blogging for me anymore. I want to keep my site as positive as can be. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but if he wants to do that, then put it on your own website. These are my teammates. I care about these guys and I’d never say something like that about them. If I had something to say about them, I’d say it to their face, not on a website.”

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Okay, we admit there wasn’t a lot to love in the Washington Redskins’ 9-7 victory over the St. Louis Rams Sunday. The head coach’s playcalling abilities have been brought into question after another less-than-stellar outing, the offense sputtered any time they were in a position to actually put points on the board and the defense continued to let their opponent convert too many third downs.

But all is not lost.

First of all, the Redskins did not play their best game, and yet, still came away with a win. In a league where victories are hard to come by, that is always huge. And the second takeaway was the inspired play of safety Chris “The Predator” Horton, who provided the game’s two biggest highlights when the outcome was still very much in the balance.

With St. Louis in a position to retake the lead in the fourth quarter on third-and-goal from the nine, the talented safety delivered a monster hit on Rams wide out Donnie Avery that jarred the ball loose, and cornerback Carlos Rogers recovered the fumble.

Horton’s second highlight came on the Rams’ final offensive play of the day. On fourth-and-10, Marc Bulger threw a pass deep down the right sideline to Avery, which Horton defended beautifully to end the game. The play was eerily reminiscent of the 43-yard bomb Bulger completed to Avery a year ago which enabled St. Louis to kick the game-winning field goal – giving the Rams one of their two wins in 2008 while providing the Redskins with a stomach-punch loss to an inferior opponent.

So naturally, we caught up with Horton after the game to talk about his memorable performance and the team’s first win of 2009.

The game was getting scary there towards the end and you guys definitely needed someone to step up and make a play. Go ahead and walk us through your big forced fumble.

“I think we might have been in man coverage and my job is to read the quarterback,” Horton said. “Once he threw it, I just ran over there and it’s just one of those things – I got the ball out, but it wasn’t because I did anything special. I wasn’t trying to cause a fumble or anything. I just read the play and ran to the ball. I feel like every time I do that, something positive always happens.”

These early-season home games have become your calling card. A year ago you burst onto the scene with your monster game against New Orleans and you did it again against the Rams. What’s really going on?

“I just try and come out the gate and make plays,” he said. “One thing I’m really trying to focus on though is later in the year last year I kind of hit a wall. Everything got overwhelming and I started to feel really sore and beat up because it was my first NFL season. This year, I’m learning how to take care of my body more. It’s one of those things – I want to start fast and try to continue it throughout the entire season.”

There was some serious déjà vu on the fourth-and-10 play, where Bulger aired it out for Avery. A year ago they connected on that play, but this time around you made the play to seal the win. What did you see on that play?

“Basically, we were in Cover 2, but it turns into man-to-man once he gets that far down the field,” Horton said. “I was just thinking, ‘Keep running and don’t let this guy catch the ball.’ I knew I had a lot of guys counting on me, and I happened to make the play.”

We double checked the standings and the NFL doesn’t keep track of ugly wins versus pretty wins. How big was it for you guys to pick up this victory?

“Very big, very big,” he said. “A win is a win, you know. It doesn’t matter how many points you win by. If they gave out half points and we could win by half points, we’d still take the W.”

While Horton preferred to downplay things believing he was just doing his job, his teammates definitely took notice that when the game was on the line, “The Predator” was there to finish the job.

“It was huge,” said linebacker Brian Orakpo of Horton’s forced fumble. “Because if they converted on that play, who knows what happens. They could keep driving and score a touchdown or fieldgoal, and the game is lost. Horton made a huge play on the ball and we thank him for that and for getting us off the field.

“He’s a hard-nosed, hard-hitting safety who plays very smart and is just a guy who is all over the field,” Orakpo continued. “I really try to learn him.”

So, even though there is still plenty of work still to be done on the 2009 Washington Redskins, because of the play of guys like Chris Horton, the team was able to sneak away with a victory. And if Horton’s play inspired a guy like Orakpo to find ways to improve his game, well, then some good came out of Week 2 after all. With all of the negativity out there this week, it’s nice to have at least one positive to focus on.