Top 12 All Time Redskins: Chris Cooley

Posted by cardboard hogs on April 29, 2013

Captain Chaos, Chris Cooley is next up on my all time favorite Redskins list, coming in at number 9.

Cooley was drafted in 2004 and part of Joe Gibbs first draft class since returning to coach the Redskins. The unheralded TE from Utah State ended up being selected in the 3rd round (81st overall) and was the 6th TE picked behind guys with marginal NFL success such as…Kellen Winslow, Benjamin Watson, Ben Troupe, Kris Wilson and Ben Hartsock. Not sure why he was able to slip this deep in to the draft? The only thing i could suspect was his performance at a small school in Utah (football small…)… it could also have been that he played in the Sun Belt conference. Not exactly the SEC when it comes to talent pools. This kind of oversight always happens to the small school kids. You see guys that go to the tradition football powerhouses and get pushed to the top of the draft or taken higher than they should be and fail to meet the high NFL expectations. I always love it when the small school guys succeed, kind of the all american redemption story.

Cooley became one of the leagues premier Tight Ends in 9 short seasons, and putting up solid numbers with a franchise that was nothing short of chaotic. New coaches, coordinators and QB’s seemed to come through each year, but he always managed to put up solid numbers.

$09 TC Chris Cooley Blue Refractor$

One of my favorite stories was when the Redskins were looking at drafting him, Joe Gibbs fell in love with the guy and thought he was a Mormon, being from Utah and all, you know? That’s where they keep the Mormons and all of the fine folks of Utah are indeed Mormon! Joe Gibbs couldn’t have been more wrong. Captain Chaos was a beer drinking, prank calling wild child that let everything hang out…literally…or figuratively…whatever.

One of my favorite Cooley moments was his second season with the Redskins, 2005, agains the Dallas Cowboys. The Redskins were in the midst of turning around the season and making a late season push, needing to win out to even have hope of making the playoffs. That game was a huge breakout moment for Cooley as he put up 3 of the Redskins 4 first half TD’s, with the last being a beautiful 30 yard run down the sidelines. I remember shouting COOOOOOOOLEY as loud as i could at my tv, just in case anyone could hear me. Such an exciting game and fantastic season. It’s moments like these that make you love your sports team…and make everything seem so much enjoyable.

The Redskins ended up winning the game 35-7 and making the playoffs. They beat the Buccaneers in Tampa and traveled to Seattle where my wife and I attended our first Redskins game together. Although the good guys lost, it was great to see my favorite team in a playoff game…how many kids get to do that!

Cooley is also a bit of a renaissance man. An artist, a painter and a potter. He has had multiple gallery exhibits in DC and involved in the art community as well. But instead of showing his art, i’m choosing to show his crusty heavy metaled out practice shorts…cause that’s just more fun!

He also married a Redskins cheerleader, which is pretty cool…kind of high school-ish, but cool no less…

…and eventually ended up wearing this at his wedding…what a guy!

Last season was more than likely his last. Cooley was cut just before the start of the season as the development of Fred Davis and transition of Niles Paul to TE made his role less critical. It became pretty obvious that his tenure was coming to an end. Cooley ended up coming back for 8 games last year but only caught one pass. At this point, i’m hoping he hangs it up and does the traditional signing of a one day contract as a Redskin.

All Cooley fans remember the great stories about him…his oddball personality and all around fun lovin attitude from a one of a kind character. He reminded me a lot of John Riggins with some of the things he did on and off the field and will alway be one of my favorite Redskins.

#9 – Chris Cooley

#10 – Gary Clark

#11 – Brian Orakpo

#12 – The Hogs

A Hog Auto, B-Mitch and Lachey!

Posted by cardboard hogs on April 15, 2013

I don’t typically buy non certified autos since you can never really verify them…plus they tend to be sloppy and not something i’ve been excited about in the past. One table at the Mall 205 show last weekend has a few Redskin autos that I turned down last month, but couldn’t resist this time around. The dealer, Greg, had about 20 of these cards and was more than happy to sell all of them to me. I resisted and purchased the three i liked the most.

Jim Lachey wasn’t really part of the Hogs glory days, but could have easily been a part of their dominance. He would have fit in nicely with Jacoby, Butz, May, Bostic and Starke and may have won another Super Bowl or two. Jim was a part of the Super Bowl XXVI winning team.

Russ Grimm took WAAAY TOO LONG to get in to the Hall of Fame. Offensive Linemen really haven’t gotten the respect they deserve historically. A lot of the reason for this is due to the anonymity with which they play and they don’t have ‘stats’. They do all of the grunt work and protecting the QB and RB, but the guys behind them get all the glory. It’s not fair, but neither is life.

Brian Mitchell is a guy that should be in the Hall of Fame. Only one other player in the history of the NFL has more all purpose yards than him, Jerry Rice. Yet, he is nowhere close to getting in. Not sure why his value to the NFL, Redskins and his return dominance is overlooked by so many. I guess Special Teams is also overlooked. Devin Hester and Josh Cribbs are doing everything they can to change that.

These are the first autos for me from these players and i’m pretty happy with the purchase. All three set me back $10, so i can’t really complain…PLUS, they are all on card autos and not the dreaded stickers. Pieces like these are nice to add to my Redskin collection and are just cool little pieces of history for me.

Autograph collection

Posted by cardboard hogs on March 3, 2013

One of the things i’ve noticed about the blogs I follow is the vast collection of through the mail autographs. When i was a kid, i was totally addicted to this…especially growing up in San Antonio where we didn’t have a major league baseball team. We did have the San Antonio Missions who were the AA affiliate for the Los Angeles Dodgers at the time, but they played games on the other side of town and it seemed like a really long trip to see guys i didn’t know. So, one summer i got the great idea to take all of my doubles and cards i wasn’t too attached to and send them to players. I did this for 2 or 3 summers starting in 1987 and was fairly successful. I was only 11 at the time and didn’t have the foresight to track who i sent to or how long it took, but i was pleased with most of the players that responded.

I remember spending a ton of money on stamps, almost to the point that i wondered if it was really worth it all. For me at that age, getting mail was always exciting, especially when it was in an envelop i had addressed to myself. There would be weeks when i would come home to a card a day. Pure excitement for me at the time.

Going through these cards really brings back a lot of good and awkward memories of my childhood. I was an only child and never had a large group of friends, so i put everything i had in to my hobby. I think that’s why it’s still with me to this day, it’s always been something that i could focus on and really enjoy…and get lost in. There is something very child like about collecting cards as we all know, and it’s also a little therapeutic at times. It’s been a ton of fun going through these cards and trying to remember how i came about them. Some have been personalized and some rubber stamped. Some players sent out pre-signed cards and kept the ones i sent…either way, i was always happy to receive something new from a major league ball player.

As i’ve gotten older, my pursuit for autographs has waned, other than pulling them in packs/boxes or buying them to fill player collections. Plus i’ve felt awkward asking for an autograph of someone 15 years younger than me. Much respect to those though that still work to get autos, believe me, i understand the thrill of the auto!

Some of the cards are also a little sad as the players have passed on for various reasons…way too soon for these guys. Makes me feel really lucky that i was able to have something they were a part of before their untimely passing.

Best of luck to all the through the mail auto collectors and hope you enjoyed some of my cards in this post. I plan to post some additional cards in the future, but am continuing to post them on my cardboard hogs tumblr account…please feel free to visit and always feel free to leave a comment or two here. I would love to hear your feedback and know that good collector folks are reading!

thanks!

Something new!

Posted by cardboard hogs on March 2, 2013

Hey kids, a short post here…really short.

I am starting a tumblr page which you can be directed to if you click below

cardboard hogs tumblr

I will randomly post autographed cards that i received through the mail and in person, back when i used to do that sort of thing.

enjoy!

and as always, Hail to the Redskins!

HAIL to the REDSKINS! – NFC East Champions

Posted by cardboard hogs on December 31, 2012

The Washington Redskins are NFC East Champions for the first time since 1999. Holy Crap! A team that was all but out of it in early November at 3-6 rallied to win their last 7 and finish 10-6. So proud of my favorite team and excited to make the playoffs…and keep the Cowboys out of the playoffs. This was a great night.

For most of the seasonthe attentionwas focused on RG3 and rightfully so. He is an amazing talent and a once in a generation type player, a true game changer. With all that said, having another rookie behind him taking hand-off after hand-off and racking up over 1600 yards on 300 carries and 13 TD’s, Alfred Morris has been amazing. Morris has lead the rushing attack for the month of December and breaking down the defenseseach week all the while not turning the ball over. Two rookies with very bright futures and two rookies that are extremely humble and gracious in victory. This is by far the most excited i have been to be a Redskin fan in over 20 years. We have a great foundation and future with these two along with the other core guys on the team. Morris is impossible to not love, dude drive a 1991 Mazda 626 to work every day? What NFL player at his level does that? Seriously, a freakin’ Mazda 626! Gotta love him.

Coming out of thedraft he was not a highly sought after player and really an afterthought in the draft. So the card companies have been a little slow with the production of his face on cardboard. This will change soon. I have been lucky enough to pick up a couple of his autographs earlier in the season for under $20 each. Feeling pretty good about those pick ups now. With all of his success in his first season, i imagine the demand on his cards and autographs will only increase. Maybe he can get a new ride in the offseason.

With the Redskins win, that means another season comes to an end for the rival Dallas Cowboys. As a Redskin fan, there is no better way to end the season than to knock out your most hated rival…well, i guess winning the NFC East while doing it is better? Watching the Cowboys suffer is something i thoroughly enjoy. I also love that they keep going to Tony Romo. In all fairness, he is a very talented QB but is simply unable to win big games. Romo is the football equivalent of Alex Rodriguez, big time player in any game but when it’s a big game he disappears. His legacy will based on whether or not he ever gets over the hump and can at the very least GET to a Super Bowl, winning one would solidify his place in Cowboy history…can’t imagine that ever happening though.

This week will be exciting for all Redskin Fans. We get to face the Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs for the 3rd time in 7 years. I have been to the two previous games in Seattle and would love nothing more than to knock them out at Fed Ex next Sunday. They will be a handful though. Great defense, Wilson and Lynch are similar to RG3 and Morris. Should be a great matchup. -HTTR!

Redskins 24 Seahawks 17