Talk about a new era in Ashburn. The winter that ushered in the arrival of GM Bruce Allen (first true executive with teeth since Marty Schottenheimer) and coach Mike Shanahan will also witness the departure of one of the pillars of the last decade-- as tackle Chris Samuels retires. The spinal condition that ended his 2009 season in Carolina means #60's days in the league are complete.
The six-time pro-bowler was clearly one of the best players of the post-modern Redskins era (since 1993)... and he definitely paid off better than the other first rounder that year (Levar Arrington)... but Samuels' success may have hurt the team in the long run. Because Samuels was able to contribute so early in his career, and because he and Jon Jansen (1999 draftee) became phenomenal bookends... the front office may have been given a false sense of security regarding the offensive line-- and did little to add to it during the decade. Instead of plugging in seasoned understudies, the Skins the last few years have had to scrape for open auditions whenever an injury occurred.
Here's to a great Redskins career. Here's also to the team drafting some high quality offensive linemen this April.
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