Green and Yellow

Cheering for the Packers 100% today, but I'm glad someone brought this song to Randle El's attention and that he made this video.

Mom: Family, Friends, and Football

Football. We love it. We hate it. But it seems like however we feel, we are still there every Sunday watching, hoping, cheering. It can make us happy. It can make us sad. Still every Sunday there we are. The best thing about football is that it brings people together. My favorite part about football is that every Sunday we gather together with family and friends to watch the game either at home or at FedEx field to cheer on Chris and the Skins.

For many of the games we have family or friends come to visit from out of state and attend the game. The first year I moved to Virginia, we had a group of family or friends come to every home game. They came from Utah, Wyoming, California, Alaska, and Ohio. It was always four or five days of entertaining – doing the DC tour, going out to dinner, cooking, but mostly just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company. The best day of all is game day! We start planning early, usually the day before getting our tailgating food and drink ready. I don’t think that there are any games that I don’t make yummy jello shots the night before. On game day we pack up everything and head out to the game so that we can be there at least three hours early. Our tailgating food has consisted of chicken wings, burgers, chili, burritos, hot dogs, chips, Woody’s famous Buffalo Chicken Dip or ham and cheese ball, and sometimes even just sandwiches. Drinks have also been fun – soda, beer, Bad Juan margaritas, Pink Panty Pulldowns, B52s, Long Island Ice Tea, hot chocolate and Hot Damn or Butter Shots, and various other great creations to get us going before the big game. Oh yeah, there’s always the jello shots too!

When the Skins play away, we also plan game day parties with family and friends. We usually have the same kind of food and drink, we just gather at someone’s home. Even when there is more than one television, everyone is usually gathered around just one of them cheering, screaming, or sometimes even cursing.

Game day also seems to be the day of massive text messaging. Before Tanner moved here, he and I would text after almost every play. Now I watch the games with Tanner, but I get texts from friends and family all over. Sometimes I never hear from anyone all week, but on game day, let the text messages flow! Even though we’re far apart, the texting makes it seem like we’re all just watching together.

So for at least the last two Skin’s games and hopefully playoffs, make your game days the best! The season is coming to an end too fast. Get together with your family and friends, enjoy the food and drink and cheer your loudest for the Skins to WIN! Mostly enjoy each other’s company. Happy holidays to our family, our friends, and mostly the fans.

Football All Day

This is just something funny for you to watch to help get over the Giants game.

2008 Beard Growing Contest

Well, only five days before training camp and I've been trying to get in the right mindset, but it's tough! It seems like if I can do something stupid or silly it makes it easier to get through some of the days. I pulled off the long hair, I wore the shorts, there is always a couple sharpie tatoo days but now I'm ready for a new adventure...Greatest facial hair of training camp is going to be this years motif. After leaving Wyoming for my summer vacation I came home with quite a start on my new project. It's been a little over two weeks since I've shaved and I'm as proud as I can be! One thing about my little endeavors is that it is much more fun if I can have a partner in crime, or as many participants as possible. So I've decided to start the Chris Cooley Beard Growing Contest.

Winners will be chosen in two stages. I will personally choose the first winner based on the "Greatest Facial Hair in General." That winner will be chosen Saturday July 26 and will receive two family passes to training camp to share beards with me.

The second winner will be chosen Wednesday August 6. The prize for that winner, and really the grand champion, will be two tickets to the first preseason game at home against the Bills and also a family parking lot pass so the winner can take bearded pictures with me after the game. The consolation prize for the second place winner will be a replathentic jersey personalized by me in anyway.

The rules for the Grand Beard Champion are a little tougher. You can't just have good facial hair to begin with. The winner will chosen based on greatest beard or facial hair transformation. Yes, this means a before and after picture are required (send photos to tanner@chriscooley47.com) . Band members from ZZTop will have no advantage over the competition.

All winners will also be posted front and center throughout the website as proud bearded or mustached supporters of chriscooley47.com. I am very excited to see the many beards! I hope everyone will be as excited about this as me. Good luck!Update: There has been some concern about the contest but the stipulations are what they are. By sending your before picture you are automatically entered in the contest. You do not need to do anything else but let your beard grow! Thanks for those who have already entered.

Taking out the Trash

Christy and I moved into our new home last October. Since moving in I've decided it's the greatest house ever built. Of course I'm biased, but it really is a resort turned into a home. I could stay there for a month and have no complaints. Well, actually, only one complaint! At some point every couple weeks I have to deal with my trash. The new house we moved into is at the end of a quarter mile dirt road. There is no public trash removal at the end of our little road, at least not within a reasonable price range. I mean, I can't justify paying more than a couple bucks for someone to drive by and pour my trash into a truck. So I looked for practical ideas of dealing with the garbage. For a while I would take a bag or two every couple days to Redskins park and illegally dump in their bins. That ended up being too much work. Then, I thought the Mormon church might be a good option because it's closer to my house, but it seemed like they always have people lurking around watching what's going on. Finally I broke down and bought a pair of black beauties and decided I would make it to the dump every couple weeks. Now my pick-up has become the dump runner. The bed smells horrible and I sometimes spill trash on the sides but I have actually given it the sole designation of "garbage truck." The ways diesel prices have soared have frustrated me enough to protest driving my truck and use the alternate Mercedes. Ya, real bummer I guess. I gotta hand it to the truck though, I can load some serious trash in the bed. The last month has been hell as far as making garbage runs. With the wedding going on we had so many people in town, thus much more garbage. Then we got home from the honeymoon and paid the price of wedding gifts by breaking down and recycling what seemed like hundreds of boxes. I have made three trips in the last three weeks, but two days ago I took the mother load of trash.

The back of the truck was piled so high with junk that the trash actually would not allow the truck to go more than 25 mph. Any faster and I was losing garbage left and right. Obviously I couldn't have known this and had to learn it by trial and error. After made stops along the road to pick all kinds of flying debris I decided that it was better to create an angry line of traffic than to be the "Guy littering all over the road."

Once I make it to the dump I have quite the system. I can maneuver the truck within inches of the garbage bins on the passenger side. The first couple times I pulled up to the driver side and squirmed my way to the bed, but quickly learned that wasn’t the way to go. Because of all my great football strength (i.e. workout video part 2) I am able to muscle the black beauty up over the edge of the truck, easily pouring out all contents. It's tough to keep the little bits of garbage to keep from spilling along the way, but a good pair of gloves keeps the stink off the hands after picking items up. I'm also working on the trading autographs for the dumping costs. Our agreement hasn't worked out yet, but I feel good about it in the near future. My negotiating skills are too good and I feel like my auto's are in high demand at the dump. All in all I manage to make a dump trip in less than half an hour. I definitely don't love it, but it's a mandatory chore.

Update: The Washington Post liked this one

Ask a Redskin

The Q and A portion of this blog has been amazing. I have loved reading and answering everyone's questions but it is however, time to branch out and give you the opportunity to ask another Redskin his opinion. This time it is Jason Campbell's turn. We have an autograph signing together this Saturday at PSGameGear in the Dulles Town Center Mall from 1-3. We will discuss all the questions there. So here's how this will work:

1. All questions should be directed to Jason Campbell.
2. You post your question in the comment section of this post by Friday .
3. I will pick the Top 10 questions on Friday night, June 13.
4. Answers will be posted Monday morning, June 16.

Now I don't want nor will I ask questions that Jason gets all the time. We want you to be creative. So please ask questions you have never heard Jason answer and will probably never get asked again. To help stimulate some creativity, enjoy watching this classic from Bog TV.

Redskins Cheerleader Turns Redskin Wife

This is a post done for Yahoo yesterday. I took a couple pictures this week for fun and thought they turned out great. Obviously I made a great choice.

Christy stepped through my back door three July’s ago. She walked into the house like she had climbed out of a poster in my high-school bedroom. Past fashionably late, she had given me way too much time to sit and drink and I knew it would be hard not to make an ass out of myself. By the time I was face to face with my favorite Redskins Cheerleader all I could muster was a shrugged shoulder handshake.

It was a summer Saturday night and Christy was thinking about me. I would have never known what she had on her mind, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. She confessed that it wasn’t coincidence that brought her to the house and she was prepared. If looks were bait then I was hooked. She dressed to make men panic, but beyond that she was beautiful. Her smile was incredible and she had something terribly contagious in her eyes. Awkward glances and stares filled the room, and before the night ended I knew that I wanted more.

As a couple early on we were controversial, but entirely smooth. Rumors followed everywhere we went. Keeping a secret became hard when there wasn’t a secret to start. It turned out a picture of the two of us had been leaked to the Redskins. Christy was fired from cheerleading two weeksafter we started dating. Since her big paycheck ($75 dollars a game) had come to an end, at least the sneaking around was over.

As we moved through the season I fell in love with her. We went through a lot of weird stuff, but it never fazed either of us. Maybe her dad brainwashed me one of the nights I passed out at her house, because no matter what happened, I was crazy about her. More likely it was her mom, since I was usually trying to impress the old man by drinking him under the table.

It’s amazing that the last three years together have gone by so fast. I’m getting married this Friday evening. I asked Christy to be my wife nine months ago and I’m a lucky man she chose to be with me. I think she has learned being with a football player is harder than it looks. She is looked through countless times by surrounding football fans, and the funny thing is Christy should be getting the attention. Not to mention she has to put up with my terrible attitude five months out of the year. (Football season)

While I can’t wait to put the ring on I’ve had some resoundingly bad conversations over the last couple of months. Golf may have an uncountable list of ethics, though bothering a complete stranger about getting married is not one of them. First of all I’m excited for the big day, so please don’t feel sorry for me because marriage sucks for you. No I’m not nervous, I don’t want any marriage advice, and yes Christy’s mom is still hot.

From the moment Christy said “yes” the plans began. I have to admit I haven’t been the most avid planning participant, but one thing I was put in charge of was the seating. I’ll say this; it should at least be an interesting night. I’ve had calls from numerous wedding guests, most recently Dan Snyder’s assistant asking what table they could find their seats. Obviously my easiest seating solution, anywhere you can find a chair. I’m not trying to stick Dan with my drunken uncle, but drawing up all those name tags was way over my head.

I’m hoping for a huge night on Friday. We’ve paid for two open bars, and invited nothing short of an “animal house” cast of characters. Although I hope Clinton’s friends (Southeast Jerome) don’t crash the party. After our vows the only promise I will make is to not stuff the cake all over Christy’s face. The rest of the reception is free game. It will certainly be a night to remember.

Will owners opt out?

Rumors that NFL owners will choose to opt out of the Collective Bargaining Agreement set in March of 2006 seem to be coming true. That agreement set guidelines so that if either the owners or the players didn't like their position they would have the option of opting out of the contract. Several owners are suggesting their organizations have become "cash strapped" because of the current arrangement.

It is becoming clear that the disagreement has become prevalent within the "small-market" owners in the NFL. These owners have a problem with the current revenue sharing program where 60 percent of total revenue is given to the players. Owners complain that is too “one-sided.” It is boiling down to several owners thinking they deserve the right to all the money made by their team. It’s their investment right? I mean they put in all the money and all the work.

In the current labor agreement teams have a salary cap of 116 million dollars. If the owners do choose to opt out of the current agreement there is a possibility of an uncapped season in 2010 and no draft in 2011. This means that the teams electing to pay players less today are the same teams that wouldn't be able to afford high end free agents in an uncapped market. The funny thing here is, small-market owners are about to opt out of an agreement that would help their teams in the future. How much of a fighting chance do small-market teams have in 2011 of getting either top ranked college prospects with no draft, or legitimate free agents with no money?



It's unfortunate to me that there are owners who choose not to acknowledge why their team makes money. Two reasons: fans and players. Fans want to see great athletes compete. Fans don’t give a shit who is paying for the team, they just want a team. As a kid my idol was John Elway and the Broncos were my team. I watched closely as John led miraculous comebacks week after week. I cried when they won the Super Bowl. I could have rattled off the entire roster in numerical order yet one person that would not have come to mind, the owner. Taking this a step further, as a current NFL player, I couldn't rattle off more than 6 or 7 current owners.

What it all comes down to is money and the NFL is a money making machine. It has quickly become the most watched and talked about professional sport in America. Its popularity keeps fans entertained year round. Free-agency, the Combine, Draft Day, Mini-Camp, and Training Camp have become as exciting for some people as Game day. Fans can't get enough of their team and because of this revenue in the NFL has sky-rocketed. Yet owners don’t get their fair share?

From forbes.com:

The NFL is still the richest sports league in the world (the average team is worth $957 million, 7% more than last year) as well as the most profitable (mean operating income in 2006 was $17.8 million on $204 million in revenue).

The 2006 season marked the beginning of six-year contract extensions with the three major networks--a $3.7 billion deal with CBS, a $4.3 billion deal with Fox and a $3.6 billion deal with NBC--that award the NFL with an average of $2 billion a year until 2011.

Do the owners realize that in this profession only a very select group of people can do what we do? There are less than 2000 players on NFL rosters every year. This is my fifth year on the job and I can make one easy conclusion. It is extremely difficult to be great in the NFL. Fans pay to come out because they like to watch great players. The NFL is an enormous entertainment industry and the Players Union easily recognizes that. The Union doesn't feel like what we get isn’t fair, but that the money has been earned by the players.

In my personal opinion an owner should be someone who is truly proud of his team. They should be proud of their players. An NFL team should be more than an investment to its owners. Winning and losing should be more about pride than the money. Unfortunately, as we can sadly see by what is happening with this potential opt out is that owners care much more about the money than having a successful team.

Boogaard vs. Slice

I wouldn't pick a fight with either Derek Boogaard or Kimbo Slice. But picture this: Derek (playing tight end) taking a late hit from Kimbo (linebacker) and the retaliation that would follow. Talk about NFL fight of the year. I feel it would be similar to some of the kicking, stomping, and helmet smashing that occurs in the video below.

To read more on the subject check out The Cooley Zone over on Shutdown Corner and tell us what you think.

Poker Night

The personal anticipation of Saturday’s poker night had been building for months. I bought a new house and moved in November. When we decided what rooms would be what and started buying furniture it was made mandatory that a "Man Room" was created. Cigars, whiskey, and poker are prerequisites to entering the room. At least that was my great plan the day I moved in. Well if anyone is ordering furniture please know this. It will take a long damn time for it to get to your house. If you order an entire houseful of furniture it is going to take even longer. If the poker table is supposed to be there in a month just count on 8 to 10 weeks. Anyways, here we are in May and I finally get to host my first poker night. I was excited as hell.

Although I had been counting down the days until the big game I am not the greatest planner. While I knew there was going to be a poker night, no one else did. So there was some slight concerned when I began asking people on Friday afternoon what their plans were for the Saturday. Actually half my invites were made Saturday morning. Thankfully I have great friends and family and we had a full turnout. Actually more players than I expected showed up and we had to create an alternate poker room for the first half of the tournament.

I know the basics of poker; actually think I'm pretty good. Who doesn't? Really, I feel like I can play any card game and I'm upset if I don't win. The problem with coming up with all the rules for my own tournament was that I was completely over my head. Enter Ryan Boschetti. As far as I'm concerned he is the best gambler I know. I’ve never seen anyone win as at a casino as consistently as he does. He could realistically make his living gambling. We spent a weekend in Atlantic City last year and I saw Boss hit six different slot machines, each for thousands of dollars including a slot payout of $13,000 dollars on a penny machine. Not to mention wins at every single table game in the casino. Needless to say he would be my “rules guy” for the tournament.

Twelve players began the tournament on two tables. Unfortunately after drawing names I was deprived of starting in my own poker room and was forced to start at the dining table. Although it was the alternate room, whiskey and cigars were not only permitted, but enforced. Each player started with 2000 in poker chips (imaginary money) for no-limit Hold'em.

My mentality going into the first table was to just make it back into my beautiful new “man room”. I played conservatively knowing at least one or two people would bet themselves out early in the game. It only took 30 minutes until my table had broken down to four players.

I was playing like a champ, strangely staring off with a serene expressing trying to mask all the terrible hands I was getting. Early on it was a lot of two's and sevens, but I was hanging right in the chip count. My big hand finally hit; King/Queen of spades and I doubled the bet. I casually watched another King and two spades come out on the flop. Everyone went out but Tim, and me. Tim being the man I had already considered next to leave our table. As the cards played out, I not only knew Tim didn't have the hand I did, but felt he was bluffing. I offered him an early out telling him not to lie about his two shit cards (probably 9/3 off-suit). "Bluffing isn't lying," Tim chuckled. "I would never lie to you." So I rewarded his bluff with a sideways smile and confidently pushed all my chips into the heart of the table.

Tim's irresponsible play awarded me a spot in the coveted man room. After a brief whisky break, we sat down, raised the blinds, and resumed play. The hands started out very serious and I continued to draw garbage hands. I removed myself from the intensity of the game and sucked down a couple more drinks. Since I couldn't get a hand to stay in the game I had to fill my time some other way. At this point killing a drink wasn't uncommon for anyone left at the table. You would think that anyone who loved liqueur would use it sparingly in times like these. Inebriation takes the best out of any poker player.

My focus on the game began to slip. We now had the stereo out and singing had become a more popular event than poker. There’s no way to get a good read on someone's hand when the entire room is screaming the chorus of "Livin on a Prayer." It was amazing that the final table had wound down to four players and there was more concern for "Shot Through the Heart" than winning the cash.

It was 10 o’clock and I figured it was time to make my move or bounce. I drew my first two cards, a Jack/9. By this point in the night that seamed like the perfect go all-in before seeing anything else hand. I chose to belittle my concern when I found out the rest of the table wasn't scared of a conflict. Shoulda known better, but I was easily bounced from the game when Boschetti posted 3 tens.

At the end of the day 4th place was fine by me. I managed to hang out and watch the rest of the game, which lasted a whole ten minutes. Apparently everyone was ready to win or go home, but all in all the night was a blast.

What am I really like?

What is Chris Cooley like? Typical question posed to many teammates and friends, but I feel like a question that is so hard to answer. What someone is like, or who someone really is can be so hard to define. I heard the question today in the locker room, but didn't think much of it until tonight.

.....30 minutes later..... So I've decided I can't find the words to encompass my entire personality, but I think I can describe something that influences an enormous part of my life, inattention. I am the most inattentive person I know. Procrastination is an ongoing battle, and absentminded would fit right in the mix of Chris Cooley personality traits. Combining the three of these things and I'm running a strong case for ADD.

An average day consists of me spending 10 to 20 minutes looking for keys (and yes I have key holders the first step in the door). In that day I also spend at least another 20 minutes looking for some random item (wallet, can opener, cork screw, and a popular search is the other shoe). The funny thing is, the item is always something that should be somewhere. Common statements in my life are "It couldn't have just grown legs", or "It'll turn up sooner or later."

Saying I'm easily distracted would be a hell of an understatement. The team meeting room at Redskins Park has become my own personal art studio. If I'm going to get "coached up" on any kind of plays, it probably better get done in the first 30 minutes. Now don't misinterpret this as me not caring, or a lack of respect. More importantly don't ever think I don't know exactly what is going on in a game plan or in an offense. I simply have a tiny attention span, and it is impossible for me to sit and listen to someone talk for an extended period of time.

I've spent countless hours making all kinds of sketches. I've sported a variety of sharpie tattoos to practice. 80's rocker shorts were a big hit in the locker room. My all time favorite time consumer has to be completely coloring a piece of paper with a ball point pen.(A guaranteed 8 hours worth of work).

I feel like a 17 year old kid living the biggest dream of my life. I know I act like a 17 year old kid most of the time, I get that from my dad. I am completely spontaneous. Not a day goes by when I complete half the plans that I began that day with and I love it. My mind races from idea to idea, but this allows me to be interested in so many things. I can very easily decide I'm going to spend the week relaxing at home and end up on a flight to Vegas the next day.

Because of this major personality trait (inattention), I have become the person that I am. The person people know and expect. In different descriptions about myself, I've heard that I'm crazy or have a free spirit. I don't make an effort to be different or original, I just do things that make me happy.

Please direct Q and A to the Draft Day post. Thanks

It's Draft Day

The draft is such a big day for so many people. It's amazing how much worry and concern fans invest in what their team is going to do. It's even more amazing that for the last two months the thought process of every NFL organization is plunged into dark rooms breaking down film for hours on end. All this to find maybe two or three players that might become great.

It's funny because every year when draft day rolls around my only concern is whether or not the Redskins are going to draft a couple of cool guys to hang out with. Someone I can have a beer with. Is that too much to expect? Maybe today will be my day. Last year it worked out great for me because Dallas Sartz, Jordan Palmer, and Tyler Ecker were all great friends. The only problem involves whether or not they are going to make the team after training camp. Watching guys you've made friends with get cut on the final day of camp is a disaster.

So this year I've really had a hard time getting into the the excitement of new players. I guess it's just happening, so I might as well have a little fun with it. Earlier on the blog we talked about a draft Q and A. I figured now would be a good time to do it. I felt the last Q and A on the site went great, but it was the most fun answering the off the wall questions. (Who would win in a tag team match? Me and Christy or Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson?) What I want to do is ask everyone to submit their questions about the draft. I'm going to pick the ten most original questions or ideas that I want to talk about. I think it should be a lot of fun, and I will really look forward to the questions. I'll give this post five days and then make the selections.

Yahoo!

After two weeks of blogging I finally got my big break. Haha. I just finished my first post for Yahoo Sports. Every Wednesday I will create a post for Yahoo which I think it's going to be pretty cool stuff. It's funny cause I don't feel nervous about putting anything on my own website, but I've been worried about every sentence I typed for that blog. I mean, I really don't want to sound like an idiot football player on the first day of my writing career. Anyways, I did a post about draft day when I was a rookie, so everyone will have to go check it out.

Oh yea, the store on the website should be up within the next couple of days. I think we're going to have some cool stuff. We had some shirts made and I have a ton of signed jerseys and pictures. I also kept a ton of game used stuff that's we'll be putting up. I even cleaned out my garage Monday and Tuesday and I found some real prizes....kidding. Cleaning out the garage was a huge pain in the ass though.

Anyways, thanks for reading and it would be cool if anyone wanted to get back to me on what they thought of the Yahoo stuff. Thanks again.

Reebok Photoshoot

I feel like I've been traveling so much the last couple of months and this week was nothing less than what's become normal to me. At least I am getting used to the security procedures at the Dulles Airport. Soon I'll be on a first name basis with the airport crew. I've moved through DVD boxed seasons of Lost seasons 1-3, 24 seasons 1-3, and seasons 1 and 2 of One Tree Hill. After fifteen hours traveling in the last weekend to Utah, where we stayed for only three days, I landing Monday morning and I was greeted with a message from Reebok saying that I would be headed to Miami on Wednesday to do a photo shoot. Awesome.


When I think of someone with my serious modeling skills I would have planned on two, maybe three hours tops taking pictures. After I spent the first 45 minutes in the make-up girl's chair I knew I was in for a much longer day. Wake up call was 7 in the morning and my 6 o'clock flight was cutting it close. I had all the looks down though after spending the plane ride the day before studying Derek Zoolander's every move. I changed from full uniform to running sprints on rooftop. Speed ladder to playgirl centerfold. Blue Steel was written all over my face and I have to be honest, the first couple of hours were a blast.

All excitement wore off towards the end of the day and for the first time in a while it was a relief to get on an airplane. I even got to watch five extra episodes of One Tree. Who would have ever guessed it would take two hours on the runway waiting for one of the plane's air conditioners. I didn't care though I was too worried about whether or not Luke Scott was really going to make friends with his dad. Or really how I can watch such a girl show. So I guess I can end the post embarrassed.

I just want to say thanks to everyone reading this. It been cool to

do everything so far. I'm gonna try to stick around home for a while so I think I'll be able to get a couple more things up this week.

Chris Cooley Workout Part 2

This lower body lift is a compliment to the running that you saw from the previous video. In the weight room we super setted power cleans with squats which means one set of cleans then one set of squats. I do 6 x 6 reps of each lift with a 3 minute rest in between. To me these are the most important lifts for a football player because they help make you a more explosive player.

The weights of all six sets are listed below.
Power Cleans:

• 1. 225 2. 245 3. 265 4. 275 5. 285 6. 295

Squats:

• 1. 275 2. 315 3. 335 4. 365 5. 385 6. 405

A day in the weight room doing these exercises gives me the most "football related strength." The Redskins strength and conditioning staff does a great job of preparing the workouts for all of the players and with their help we are able to do what we do on the field.

Chris Cooley Workout Part 1

The Redskins off season weight lifting program begins in the middle of March. There are about twelve weeks of intense work spent with the team. Most players choose to spend the time with the Redskins strength and conditioning staff because they do a tremendous job preparing the training and workouts. Many player contracts are laced with an "off season workout bonus," which is also strong incentive to be there. Workouts are four days a week, everyday involves position specific drills and lifts for maximum improvement. Through the blog I'll try to provide a four part series of what I'm doing to get ready for this season.

A workout for me at Redskins Park usually lasts a little over two hours. We spend close to an hour on the field. Some days our work on the field is conditioning, and others (like in the video below) are working on speed and quickness. Typically, a little more than an hour is spent in the weight room.

• Part 1: Speed and Quickness
• Part 2: Lower Body Lifting
• Part 3: Conditioning
• Part 4: Upper Body Lifting

The video tells all

20 Questions!

Thanks to everyone for all the great questions. Its been a lot of fun reading everything people care about. Creative comments are great to check out. So I'm gonna answer 20 of the questions. Some of them were picked by my mom and some were picked by my fiance (Christy). I had picked most of them. Thanks again!

1. If there was a "Name That Tune" game, would you rather be on that than "Deal or No Deal"? I think there really is some kind of Name That Tune game, and I think I would be awesome at it. I know that I am the champion of Name That Tune. (At least in my own car,when I control the radio). Deal or No deal would be really hard to pass up. How could I not be excited about all the case girls.

2. Last year I explained how Rocky McIntosh would be a beast. Who do I think will have a break out season for the Redskins? Of course being around the team year round I see a lot of things that no one else does. Down to the details of who works the hardest in the weight room. That said, it can still be a guess to who has a breakout year. Laron Landry will have a great season for us in his second year, but I think everyone expects that. The player that will surprise a lot of people is Reed Doughty. He is extremely smart as well as a very hard working player.

3. If I wasn't playing in the NFL what sport would I play or what profession would I choose?
Given a choice of sport, baseball would be so much fun. Plus baseball players laugh at some of our salaries, and everything they make is guaranteed. Realistically I would have finished college with an art education degree. I always thought being a high school art teacher would be really cool. I wanted to be a coach as well. I love all sports and will always be around them.

4. What is my favorite comedy film of all time?
Tommy Boy or Dumb and Dumber. Both Classics. I also could watch Caddy Shack 1000 times. None of them ever get old.

5. How much do you hate playing at FedEx. Could you convince "the Danny" to build a new stadium on the old RFK site? I actually love playing at FedEx. In my four years in the NFL, know that it is in the top three stadiums I've been in as far as atmosphere and excitement. As far as Dan Snyder, I don't think my input means much. I have heard rumors about a new stadium in the next ten years with a retractable roof. (RUMORS) It would have been awesome to play in RFK. Guess I just can't make the comparison.

6. There were a couple of questions about the rookies and pranks, so I'll give you a couple things that made me laugh. My favorite prank actually happened my rookie year. The older guys taped a guy up and rubbed Icy Hot all over his body and put him in the ice tub. The ice tub is really cold, but i can't imagine it with Icy Hot all over my body. It's pretty common to make a rookie buy dinner for all the guys. (Average bill ranges from 2 to 6 thousand) Breakfast sandwiches every Friday is popular. In college we used to catch fish in put them in lockers. All the lockers have a bottom holder for shoes that is covered by a bench. The bench will lift up and down to cover the bottom part. For my favorite all time prank we lined the bottom box with garbage bags and filled it full of water. Me and a couple guys caught about 10 carp and managed to keep them all alive, creating the "locker room fish tank". It has to be in the top five most original pranks of all time.

7. Who would win in a tag team match between Chris and Christy and Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson? The tag team match would start off with Christy and Jessica in the ring. Someone would come out of the stands with a cooler of beer and a couple of stools for Tony and I. We would proceed to sit ringside and high-five while clothes were furiously ripped off. In my world the match would end in Jes tapping out to a vicious choke hold, and I wouldn't be surprised if Christy dropped an elbow on her before she poured beer all over herself to celebrate.

8. How much do I throw myself the ball in a Madden game and do I get ridiculous yards. As well as what do I think is my greatest achievement so far? In an average game of Madden when I play with the Redskins Chris Cooley will have 10 to 15 catches and always over 100 yards. If a tight end can ever win the MVP it's Chris Cooley at the end of my season. When I'm playing I always refer to myself as Chris Cooley. Sounds dumb, but it makes it fun. As far as a greatest achievement, I would have to say the Pro Bowl. That was a huge honor for me. To be selected as the best in their sport is what any athlete would hope for.

9. How would I describe "Cache Valley" (this is where I went to high school as well as college) to someone who has never been there? Think of the movie "Napoleon Dynamite". Yes, that's pretty much what it was like. Cache Vally was a really fun place if you could find some outdoor activities. Skiing was big. I love to fly fish. Bridge jumping was always a good choice, but we really had a pretty fun time. Think zero nightlife. Zero!

10. What advice would I give to someone younger than me to find happiness? I try to never worry what people think about me. I kind of do whatever I want to do. Of course there are boundaries, but I try to stay away from anything or anyone that won't make me happy. Let all the little things go cause most don't really matter.

11. Favorite Drink? (Beer, wine, or liquor) Favorite drink definitely depends on the situation. I love almost all kinds of beer. If I was just gonna pick, it would be Bud Light. Christy and I drink wine at dinner most nights, and I love it. Red rather than white. My first couple years in DC people would always want to buy me drinks, and I would try to be cool and always ordered Jack Daniels. No more of that! I pretty much stick with beer.

12. What made me dress up as Johnny White Guy? Clinton had been dressing up as all his characters all season and finally toward the end of the year he asked some of us to be in the skit. He had all the old costumes in his locker, and we pretty much put on whatever we wanted. I tried to look as stupid as possible and was successful. As far as the name, Clinton said we could be whoever we wanted and since I was the only white guy in the group I chose "Johnny White Guy". Very fitting.

13. How short are your shorts going to be at training camp this season? If anyone remembers the old "Bike" coaching shorts from the 70's and 80's, I got a couple pairs from our equipment manager. They're actually really comfortable. They have an elastic waist and are made of some kind of material that doesn't get too wet when I get all sweaty during training camp. Plus I hate it when shorts come over my knees when I'm working out. I don't know why I'm always different, I'm not really trying to be, but I usually am. Weird.

14. Among retired players who is my favorite redskin? Is there any part of my game I would like to improve? Christy is really trying to say Darrell Green. She loves 28. I really don't have a favorite, but I've gotten pretty close to a lot of the guys from the 80's. That would have been so cool to have been a part of that team. I really think I would have fit in with those guys. I would have been all over beers after practice.

15. Are you offended or honored that I named my dog after you? Seems like tons of people are naming their dog after me. I think its awesome. I wanted to name my new dog Boscetti, but Christy threw in the veto. We named it Dale Earnhardt Jr. I tried to call him by his full name but it only lasted for a week. I'm disappointed in myself for that.

16. How hard is it to juggle my relationship and my professional career? I've been really lucky because Christy is a huge football fan. It's been great because we have so much in common. I think one of the coolest things about our relationship is we like to do everything together. It's not ever like one of us hates being a part of something we're doing. It gets hard for me when we go places and people will pretend like Christy is invisible to get autographs or pictures. Most people are really cool to us though.

17. If I could eat only one meal for a year what would it be? Filet Mignon. I guess I would throw in a potato and maybe some asparagus.

18. Who among my team mates has the most grotesque figure? Fabini. I mean "Furbini". I think he looks like Edgar from Men in Black after the alien stole his body. Like when he was asking for water. Fabini is in an Edgar suit or something. Haha. Sorry Fabs.

19. Is there anything that we as a team did before or after a game to honor Sean Taylor? Honestly there isn't anything we really did special or I guess as a tradition. Sean was a great friend and team mate to everyone on the Skins. I think he was in everyone's thoughts all the time, and I know so many of us were playing for Sean. We will all miss him so much. It's been hard for me because it's hard to believe I won't see him again. It just seems like I will.

20. Any chance I will be supporting DC United this season? I actually just started following our team. I randomly played golf at Raspberry Falls a couple months ago with Jaime Moreno. He was awesome, so I gotta start watching soccer.

The core of man's spirit is through new experiences

I found this quote today in my sketch book and loved it. The quote was from the movie "Into the Wild." I guess it's the quote of the day and this blog is definately a new experience for me. Haha.
Some questions have been asked through the blog about if the posts are getting read or not. I've read and appreciate every response and would like to encourage as many as possible. I would love to read as many questions as everyone would like to ask, whether it be about my movie quote or football or my life. I will pick my 20 favorite questions through the next three days and respond to them. Please direct all the questions to this post. All the fans have been amazing to me and I feel like this is a great way to interact with everyone. I will try to continue to do more Q and A's in the future. Thanks to everyone for checking out the site.

San Diego. Drink it in, it always goes down smooth.

I'll start everyone off with day two in San Diego. This officially became the longest day of the off season. Phone is barking at me for what seems like an hour, 5:45 came so much earlier than I would have expected after CC and 7's until 2. Kozlowski is relentless with his wake up calls and I'm forced to the driving range by 6. Hitting balls would have been a better decision than getting into an argument with Trent Difler about my slippers, an argument that ended in me telling him my slippers would be great for kicking his ass.

Torrey Pines proved to be a completely unforgiving golf course as I got off to a footballesque score of 10 strokes over par after three holes. I think my caddy thought I would break every club in my bag and I probably would have under different circumstances. After 5 hours of golf I was carted back to the club house where the display board proudly flaunted my 99.

Unable to sulk around about my golf, time was cut almost too short to grab a quick chicken sandwich and head off to PETCO Park. Hopes were again high, but this time it was for at least one batting practice home run. Within the next hour I found myself sitting in Greg Maddox's locker. Daydreaming about all the backyard baseball played with my brother pretending to pitch just like him. Before heading out to the field I waited for Maddox to head into the bathroom before stealing, I mean borrowing one of his bats out of his locker. No way could professional athletes ever keep a true inventory of issued equipment.

One home run was the only thing I had hoped to accomplish, but warning track power was the only thing that came out of my at bats. I had to give a lot of credit to how hard baseball players can hit the ball as I headed out of PETCO. To tell the truth, 3 days later my hands are still pretty sore from the wooden bats while I'm typing this.

Baseball ended and the group headed straight to the children's hospital. I felt like this was the most rewarding experience of the entire trip. About ten of the players spent 2 hours hanging out with many of the great kids and their unbelievable families. Drew Brees through his charity gave over a hundred gift bags, all stuffed with PSP's, games for everyone, as well as DVD's they could watch. To see kids and families smile and cry with so much excitement and hope made my whole weekend.

The day continued on an Advocare bus back to PETCO Park as we watched the Padres and Astros play an outstanding game. Not a lot of hr's but some great pitching.

Sheets and pillows had never felt better when after we finally got back into the room. But I knew it was a day I would remember for a long time.