(photo by Brian Murphy)

Here’s what Homer is reading today:

• Our thoughts and prayers go out to Joe Bugel and his family after the loss of his daughter Holly, who was 35-years old.
• Chris Cooley informs ‘Skins fans that it’s okay to call Fred Smoot “Fredlacio,” Ryan Boschetti “Greasy Meatball,” and Stephon Heyer a “Wookie.” If that’s not enough to get you to click the link, then I don’t know what is.
• Here’s a blast from the past – an older, but fascinating feature story on former ‘Skins wideout Michael Westbrook.
• In a rare interview, Redskins owner Dan Snyder tells the Wall Street Journal that the only people who had a problem with the Redskins acquiring local radio station WTEM is the Washington Post. “We have a problem in this marketplace with our local newspaper,” he said. “There’s a monopoly. I have no problems saying that.”
• And finally, Corey Masisak of the Washington Times blogs an entertaining tale of running back Clinton Portis messing with his newest teammate, Jason Taylor. “Really I am just trying to figure out how to set him up and take advantage of him, so I am being friends with him now. Once we get into the season, I will stop talking to him and start bullying him around,” Portis said.

(See Corey, was that so hard? Professionals give credit when credit is due. So next time you want to write an article two weeks after you “found” the idea on this blog, feel free to let people know where the story came from. We’ll call it professional courtesy).

The biggest sham in professional football is not the fact that rookies are earning $20 million guaranteed before ever stepping onto the field. While that is troublesome and should be addressed at some point, the fact is that NFL team should be charged with robbery for forcing loyal fans to shell out regular season ticket prices to see meaningless preseason games.

Honestly, unless it’s the team’s third preseason game then chances are the marquee players the fans came to see are hitting the showers before most fans even have a chance to get settled into their seats. To put it in perspective, before the Washington Redskins-New York Jets game I asked Hall of Famer Sonny Jurgensen, “what can we expect to see from Brett Favre tonight?”

His answer?

“Eight plays.”

And that was about it. But that doesn’t mean that the Jets are giving their fans a break at the ticket office. Tickets for this game were the same as they would have been for a week 17 matchup with the playoffs on the line, and that’s the traveshamockery of it all.

While none of that may be groundbreaking news, it’s still enough to get even the most dedicated fans agitated with their favorite football team.

But I’d like to look at the preseason issue from a different perspective. We all know what the fans think about preseason, but what’s it like for the players who know they’re making the trip from D.C. all the way to the Meadowlands to play for less than 15 minutes? How tough is it mentally to prepare yourself to get in and get out, with the primary goal to simply avoid injury?

After seeing the Redskins play an uninspired brand of football for 58 minutes, I was lucky enough to catch up with the always refreshing Chris Cooley, who in addition to being a great interview also happens to be a Pro Bowl tight end. Here’s how it went:

Be honest, did you guys want to be here tonight?

“It’s hard to prepare yourself when you know you’re only going to play one quarter,” Cooley said. “You know, we didn’t gameplan the Jets – at least, as far as the players go. We practiced against our defense all week and we didn’t practice against the 3-4 look offensively. I know our defense didn’t prepare very much for them. Like I said, you know you’re only going to play a quarter. You know when a quarter ends you’re going out, so it’s hard to get in a mental state to get fired up to play hard.”

So what are you guys hoping to accomplish during that one quarter?

“I think our biggest goal is to just do what we want to do and to have a great drive,” Cooley said. “We did put one nice drive together and move it down the field. We had a penalty there that moved us back in the redzone and we didn’t score a touchdown, but I think we felt confident that we put a good drive together with our first team.”

Well, an ugly win is still a win. Talk to me about that ending.

“It was exciting. I was happy that we could have such a successful two minutes, and it’s fun to see Colt [Brennan] throw the ball,” Cooley said. “Even the guys on the sidelines are excited to watch Colt pass. I was surprised that they didn’t just go for the touchdown. I was surprised that they went in to tie it up in a preseason game. It’s different that they went for the overtime shot. I thought that they could get two plays at the endzone, but that’s them. We had a good time though. It was exciting and we had everyone up on their feet.”

You mentioned Colt Brennan. What do you see from the kid?

“Colt has a lot of confidence,” Cooley said. “Colt said to me on the sideline ‘As soon as I go in, I’m going for it.’ He wants to throw the ball down field. He’ll make smart plays, but he also wants to throw the ball down field. I think it’s good for a young quarterback to have that confidence.”

And with that I let Cooley off the hook as he headed out the door of the locker room. The biggest thing that stood out to me about the interview was when he mentioned that the offense hadn’t really gameplanned for the Jets and their 3-4 defense. You get the feeling that the coaching staff is still focused on making sure the offense grasps head coach Jim Zorn’s version of the West Coast offense. I guess they figured the team would be better suited ironing out the details of their offensive gameplan rather than worry about an AFC team’s 3-4 defense in the preseason.

While that’s understandable – afterall, the preseason is the time to work out the kinks – it does offer an explanation as to why quarterback Jason Campbell and the offense didn’t look as strong as they did in their first two preseason games. Let’s just hope everything goes smoother once the regular season rolls around and this offense sees a 3-4 defense again. Otherwise, some might look back to the Jets game as the offenses first sign of trouble against an aggressive and attacking defense.

(photo by Brian Murphy)

In honor of the unveiling of the new blog, I’d like to start what I hope is a regular feature on Homer McFanboy. Each week, (hopefully) I will recap the game by providing a playlist inspired by the Redskins game of the week. So, without further delay, I present to you five songs in honor of the Redskins victory over the New York Jets.

1. “I Ran (So Far Away)” by Bowling For Soup

This song goes out to Redskins running back/kick returner Rock Cartwright, who busted out a 73-yarder with just over five minutes remaining in the first half. Any time a player breaks free for a big gain like that is noteworthy, but add in the fact that Cartwright came into the game with a rib injury and was still forced to play because Clinton Portis didn’t play (leaving only Ladell Betts, Marcus Mason and Cartwright to take snaps against the Jets).

2. “Wicked Games” by Stone Sour

We couldn’t reference the original Chris Isaak’s version because that makes us think of Helena Christensen, and once that happens we’re not coming back to football. So we’ll settle for the rough-around-the-edges cover done by Stone Sour, which seems fitting for the Hawaii-Colt Brennan love affair. If Colt keeps making plays whenever the coaches call his number, you can bet Brennan’s fan club will only get bigger.

3. “Drop It Like It’s Hot” by Snoop Dogg

Goes out to Redskins defensive back Byron Westbrook, who is apparently allergic to catching punts. Westbrook’s brother Brian just signed a new contract that will pay him $21 million over the next three years. If Byron ever dreams of earning anything of substance in the NFL, he’s going to have to pay more attention when on special teams and break his muff-punting habits.

4. “Karma Police” by Radiohead

Jets head coach Eric Mangini should have woken up with Radiohead on the brain Sunday morning after sending out his kicker Mike Nugent to attempt a game-tying fieldgoal with five seconds remaining in a meaningless preseason game. Seriously, act like you’ve been there before coach. When you’re five yards away from the game-winning touchdown in the preseason you go for the win. Always. Without question. With the lack of confidence in your players (and a last name like that) it’s no wonder Jets fans are questioning your manhood this week.

5. “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay

This unusual song goes out to Fred Smoot. Why? Uh … I’m not sure. Let’s flash back to the Redskins locker room Saturday night after the victory when I asked Smoot for musical recommendations because I felt I needed some new tunes on my iPod.

“I listen to a lot,” he started. “Of course, Lil’ Wayne. I think everyone’s on that. I like Coldplay. I like a lot of people. I’m very versatile when it comes to music.”

Did you just say Coldplay?

“Come on, man. I listen to it all. I’m from Mississippi,” he said. “Once you show a Mississippi guy the world, he’s gonna try and take it on head first.”

Because he was on such a roll, I asked Smoot if he agreed with Mangini’s curious decision to try and force overtime in a preseason game. Of course, he did not.

“I would have went on and went for the score,” Coach Smoot said. “I think any way it goes, you’ve got to be happy because your guys showed a lot of resiliency, drove back down the field to try and score again. Give them a chance to score and get this game over with.”

So I asked Fred for his thoughts on Brett Favre and his debut in New York.

“Shit, he’s number four, man,” Smoot said. “He’s the All-Pro. He’s Brett Favre. He’s just one of them guys – you could drop him on Mars, give him 10 other players and he could lead them down.”

I’m not sure what that means, but I’m not going to argue with the man.

(photo by Brian Murphy)