Redskins defensive coordinator Greg Blache has not spoken to the media for the last month, but broke his silence Thursday to speak up for his boss -- Redskins owner Dan Snyder.
And in doing so, Blache outed himself as a member of PFT Planet. (Good to have you aboard, Greg!)
"This morning when I came in, and I turned my computer on and I was
looking at Pro Football Talk, and I saw comments that John Riggins made
about Mr. Snyder. And it really bothered me, the more I sat there at my
desk," Blache started.
It seemed like the personal nature of Riggins' attack upset Blache off.
"To hear such a vicious criticism of somebody I consider not just my
employer, but a good friend, bothered me. And as much as I hadn't been
talking to you, I felt like this is something I needed to do. Somebody
needed to stand up and set this record straight. This person, the
comment that was made, a 'dark heart,' that's totally, totally untrue," Blache said. (Rick Maese of the Washington Post tweeted that he "will try to get more sources to explain the exact hue of Snyder's heart.")
Jokes aside, it was clear that Snyder's personal help for Blache and his wife meant a lot to the coach.
"I'll tell you something from a person who's been here for six years
who's gone to him for things that I've needed in my family, there's
times that he's come to me when he's heard about issues in my family,
and offered his assistance. It's unsurpassed. He's one of the most
generous, kind individuals you'll ever meet."
Blache's passionate words are transcribed in full at the Washington Post. He goes into greater detail about Snyder and its worth a read to get a different perspective on the Redskins owner. The words may not change your mind or make Snyder any more effective as a NFL owner, but it's only fair to hear a different view after all we've heard about Snyder for the last month.
"I just think it's time to be put out there, it's time that you guys
understand that everything that's wrong with this organization is not
Dan Snyder," Blache said. "It's so easy for the people who held . . . a microphone every
day to point fingers and shuffle it off somewhere else."
Redskins coach Blache speaks up for Snyder
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on November 5, 2009 1:34 PM ET
Permalink
51 Comments 
Latest stories in: Latest News and Rumors, NFL Mobile Exclusives - Rumors, Top Stories, Washington Redskins
Latest stories in: Latest News and Rumors, NFL Mobile Exclusives - Rumors, Top Stories, Washington Redskins
too bad you did horrible job in Chicago and got canned.. now you're doing the same in Washington.. with all the money on BIG time defensive lineman they brought to DC over the years and you still couldn't have success.. I'd be kissing some butt to to save your job.
Ahhh, the Redskins. The gift that keeps on giving!
Snyder is no angel but Riggins is a drunken douchebag desperately grasping for any limelight he can get. All he does is bitch and moan...about Portis, about Zorn, about Snyder...can somebody PLEASE pour this guy a nice tall glass of shut the fu** up?
Stay classy Blache.
I run into the same thing myself. Part of the Redskins problem is that between PFT, AsianFever and Facebook there is precious little time to gameplan a defense.
I won't bother clicking the link but I think it's entirely possible Snyder is a good guy and a terrible NFL franchise owner.
he's just kissing Snyder's ass so that when Zorn gets the boot, he's still got a chance at being the DC under the new coach. Probably won't happen, whatever big name coach comes in will want to install his own coaching staff.
Riggins has been drunk in public more than Amy Winehouse. He's a loser looking for attention.
I agree that Snyder is a lousy owner, but I think Riggins comments go over the line.
Citizen Strange, thanks for the tip about asianfever.
I'll take Blache at his word....Snyder, just take the hands off the wheel so football people can run the show. Jack Kent Cooke never had a problem doing it....now....fire Vinny...he's the slow cousin of the family. Hail mfers'!!!
Of COURSE Blache will speak up to defend Snyder...that's what he's paid to do, and if he wants to stay employed he will do exactly what he's told...since his boss is too chickens**t to come out and address how he has turned this franchise into Oakland East with his bullying ways.
Seriously, did anyone think Blache would come out and say "Y'know, that Riggins dude is right about Snyder, that dark-hearted SOB."??
Redskins suck. Its not all the owners fault.
Did someone say Asianfever?
Quit doggin Schneidah, you guys. He may end up wanting to sell the team to someone who has a clue.
What did ya think Blache would do, start an anti-Danielle campaign ?The guy signs his damn checks. Of course Blache's gonna prop him up.
Funny stuff Citizen Strange, got a good chuckle out of me.
As for the Skins, I love em..... Can't deny it. Good gosh can they please get rid of Vin C.
Not sure how you can say Blache is doing a horrible job?
2nd in total def.
t-4th ypg
5th ppg
That sounds like a pretty good def. The offense is where the Skins let down is.
blache is a suckass who doesnt want his playcalling duties taken away.
ninjapleazee
u are an idiot and u are most likely a bears fan that knows nothing
blache is one of the top defensive coordinators in the business. defense has never been a problem in washington since he has been there and the redskins will once again have a top 5 defense to go along with their pathetic offense ran by the 2nd worst qb in the league behind jamarcus russell
in fact, our defense improved when the "genious" gregg williams left. no knock on williams, im just saying that blache is a top notch coach.
Response to: ninjapleazee
Well I see you did your homework in seeing that Blache was fired in Chicago, however, since taken over for Greg Williams, the skins have finished in the top 10 in defensive...as of today, the skins are ranked 4th overall. We are aware the offensive side of the ball is sucking but that is not the issue. Why don't you talk about how the Bears defense is (in the words of Denny Green), not who we thought they were. Rod Marenelli was supposed to transform their new D-line in Chicago and they cannot seem to stop anyone. Cedric Benson proved that. No one talks about why Tennessee has 6 team sacks while the skins have 23. Can you say Haynesworth? In fact...say it again.
So do not criticize a man for defending his employer, friend, buddy, and how ever since Greg see him. He is right, this is not all about Snyder. Snyder what not on the field versus the Lions, Rams, Chiefs, and Bucs which were humiliating games.
It's a joke to go to a Redskins game. My iphone makes for a better tv than the one they have hanging next to the pillar that's placed right infront of the seats. Other than 106.7 no one else will tell it like it is around this area. So who really cares, get over it.
Snyder is a turd, but Riggins is the jilted lover. Riggo was canned when Snyder bought 980AM and kept Szaban and Poulin because they had better ratings in the afternoon. Riggo has been dangling on by a thread to a paycheck from the Skins organization. Good enough to be employed, not good enough to stay employed.
I take those comments of his with a grain of salt. The Riggo comments would be the same as someone asking Matt Millen what is needed in Detroit to turn them around.
On another note, my observations note that the Skins D is good. On-the-other-hand, when the Yankees can outscore your offense, your NFL team will always lose.
As someone who lives in DC and therefore hears more Snyder-related news than the average bear, I can tell you that the guy's reputation is total garbage here.
Anything he owns seems to exist solely to gouge the living crap out of people. I don't know what it costs to park at most stadiums, but I believe it's $40 at FedEx Field. He has also fixed it so that there is absolutely NO other place to park near the stadium.
He owns the Johnny Rockets restaurants, which sell fast food at ridiculous prices. He owns the Six Flags amusement park outside of DC in MD and it cost FIFTY bucks to get in (and it's a 3rd rate park at best- Disney World? No prob... but dirty, crappy Six Flags that you can see all of in a half hour and *always* has at least one or two of the coasters not running... for $50? What a joke.) And then, on top of that, you get to pay $15 to park in the boonies to walk to the park. I didn't even bother to ask how much "prefered" parking is. When Snyder bought Six Flags in 2005, he *tripled* the parking fee. Nice.
If you've lived in DC for any length of time, you begin to see that Snyder is a calculating money grubber who does any and every little thing to squeeze another nickel out of you when he can. I really don't think the guy cares much about football- he cares that owning a football team brings more status to his wealth. Maybe his being 3'8" or whatever has something to do with it...
WOW.. if he was so GREAT, he'd still be with the Bears or a head coach just like all the other, mike smith, marvin lewis, schwartz, lovie smith.... bottom line, he'll never be a head coach and only kissing ass to save his job after the Snyderskins rehaul the coaching staff once again for the what is it 10th straight year? lol.
Nothing like licking Synder's nuggets in hopes of a promotion. Synder is a joke as an owner. He is living proof you cannot buy your way to the top in team sports.
Remember how Snyder handled the departure of Lav Coles:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A18520-2005Mar8
Coles said that he knew that things reached the point of no return two weeks ago after a phone conversation with Snyder, who, Coles said, threatened to make life miserable for him if the team was forced to bring him back. Coles said that Snyder was angry that the wideout had initially caused the trade with the Jets for Moss to collapse on Feb. 26 by demanding a contract extension.
"He said: 'If you come back here, you'll never play again,' " Coles recalled, adding that Snyder promised to send him a flat-screen TV on which to watch games. " 'We'll bench you for two years then we'll cut you.' He said: 'If you come back, we'll torture you.' "
"Once he was threatening me, I said to myself: 'Man, I know I have to leave.' I knew I couldn't come back because of the way they handled it."
Coles said that he was so disturbed by Snyder's remarks that he called later. "I said. 'Why would you threaten my career? I've done nothing wrong,' " Coles said. "And [Snyder] admitted that he was being emotional."
- Washington Post - March 9, 2005
@ trickbunny
I remember. I also remember when he had the sidewalks to the stadium closed down to force people to pay to park in his lots. Either that or to pay for a shuttle from the outer cash parking lots. No free walk to the stadium on public sidewalks! No free park and walk from Landover Mall! At least they finally got the sidewalks opened again.
And the new Head Coach of the Redskins is ....
Greg Blache.
Trickbunny, it's not just the parking fees. Do you know that if you take Metro and WALK from the station to FedEx, they charge you to cross the pedestrian bridge? You know the one that public tax dollars built.
How pathetic of Greg Blanchett.
Of course it is Snyder's fault, he is the one in charge of everyone else.
greg blache is right. snyder is probably, when dealing with people he knows and values, one hell of a human being. he also truly wants to have the redskins win.
but it is also true that snyder and his business associates are not good human beings no matter what greg blache or the smarmy lawyer he sent out to ridicule the Washington Post last week say.
and it is also true that a four year old boy really truly wants to drive an automobile. and it is also true that said boy is not capable of doing so successfully. and truly wanting to drive the car down the road correctly is completely irrelevant. especially to the folks downstream and in the path of the car.
if blache and the attendees of the meetings that have led to the countless ridiculous decisions over the past two decades (a second round pick to rent jason taylor out of shape for a year at $8 M.?; etc. ) wanted to help daniel snyder, they would point out that he's the four year old and the redskins are the car. and unless he and his juvenile delinquent pal cerratto give up the keys there is no solution to the problems facing the skins.
riding through d.c. in august, i listened to the skins fans on the radio describing what would make the acquisition of Haynesworth worth it, and the season successful. needless to say, this is not the team the fans were expecting to see, and at least one playoff win was the minimum expectation.
d.c. is a one team town with a very avid and wealthy fan base, but if danny and vinnie boy keep giving them no hope and their up-til-now golden goose might just get sick.
note to the skins fans touting the defense: stats are for losers. while the skins d is not as putrid as the offense, i've seen enough of their games to know that some of those stats are due to
1. the turd teams the skins have played; and
2. the other team shutting down at halftime and being willing to not take chances on offense while holding a 20 point lead and seeing no chance that the skins could bet 20 on their own unless gifted.
the skins front seven is pretty good, but the back end pretty much sucks. not only do they suck, the also think they are good, which makes them suck even more. both smoot and hall are legends in their own minds, and landry can't seem to capitalize on the physical talent and isn't 20 percent of the player sean taylor was.
"trickbunny says:
November 5, 2009 3:03 PM
...If you've lived in DC for any length of time, you begin to see that Snyder is a calculating money grubber who does any and every little thing to squeeze another nickel out of you when he can. I really don't think the guy cares much about football- he cares that owning a football team brings more status to his wealth. Maybe his being 3'8" or whatever has something to do with it..."
Well, now we know who Blance posts as.
ninja
u are more pathetic than i thought
if u knew as much as me you would know that snyder begged blache not to retire and coaxed him into coaching again this year.
to show how stupid u are, u are trying to say that if a defensive coordination gets fired from one team and if a defensive coordinator isnt a head coach than he is a bad coach? u have got to be kidding me right.
u are pathetic leave these comments for people that are knowledgable football fans. go bake a cake or something
Is there a person with credibility who can be the voice of the Redskins fans? John Riggins was blotto drunk at the White House dinner one year the team won the SB. He ended up under the dinning table passed out. Please try and find another person to speak for the fans . The team is going to need one in order to climb out of the hole they have dug. Pity the players as well.
1) I'm laughing at all of the people defending Snyder. It's clear you either don't live in DC, or you weren't knowledgeable about how the Redskins were run as an organization prior to Snyder buying the team.
This is coming from a -Dallas- fan. As much as there has always been a rivalry between Dallas and Washington, the Skins franchise had always been respected across the league, and Jack Kent Cooke was always thought of in high regard.
2) for the people saying Riggins is a drunk/bitter/etc, that in itself does not make what he is saying untrue.
3) for the people defending Blache, and saying how awesome the Skins D is, take a look at who you've played. Bucs, KC, Stl, Det, Car, Phi and NYG. Yeah, you've got a good defense, but to say the defense is top whatever belies the fact that the stats are padded by bad teams. That's not that fault of the Skins, you can only play who you're scheduled against, but my guess is that the Defense won't be ranked as high at the end of the season (the only time team rankings really mean anything).
The Cowardly Lion - Greg Blache...Watch what you say old man your going to be in Riggos shoes in Jan '10 when your unemployed. You want to do the right thing then crawl back in the hole you went in a month ago when you have been sending Jerry Gray to do your dirty work the past month. Your words mean nothing...Coward. Did you get League approval to make that comment?
Hey, Greg. You might want to go hop in the shower. I'd know I'd feel dirty. That was pretty sad really. Everyone already has the skinny on Snyder and that just looks like a sorry attempt at keeping a job that you're not qualified to have. Buy, hey, if Matt Millen can pull off several years as a GM, who's to say you can't be DC?
I usually find John Riggins to be an astute and articulate observer of all things pertaining to the Redskins, including most of his criticisms of top management and its role in bringing the team to its present state. After all, while blame tends to be directed downward in an organization, responsibility flows to the top.
However, Riggo needs to differentiate between legitimate criticism of football operations and personal attacks on the character of the individuals involved. No reasonable, responsible person could look at the way Dan Snyder handled Sean Taylor's tragic death and its aftermath and say the man has a dark heart. There is always a lot of talk about a team being a family. In this case the pater familias stepped up big time and did the right thing.
Give the man credit when credit is due. And disagree, with respect, when it is appropriate, as it surely is in many of the personnel decisions - players and staff - that Messers Snyder and Cerrato have made.
We don't own this team. We rent it 16 Sundays a year.
Snyder is a loser. He may have a lot of money but he is still a loser. I love that every season he has owned the team has been a losing season. Idiot short man!
Don't worry Greg you aint getting the job either!
I usually find John Riggins to be an astute and articulate observer of all things pertaining to the Redskins, including most of his criticisms of top management and its role in bringing the team to its present state. After all, while blame tends to be directed downward in an organization, responsibility flows to the top.
However, Riggo needs to differentiate between legitimate criticism of football operations and personal attacks on the character of the individuals involved. No reasonable, responsible person could look at the way Dan Snyder handled Sean Taylor's tragic death and its aftermath and say the man has a dark heart. There is always a lot of talk about a team being a family. In this case the pater familias stepped up big time and did the right thing.
Give the man credit when credit is due. And disagree, with respect, when it is appropriate, as it surely is in many of the personnel decisions - players and staff - that Messers Snyder and Cerrato have made.
We don't own this team. We rent it 16 Sundays a year.
ceekay
Get the tampon out of your butt because your butthurt by opinions of others.
You must be retarded, when did I say that if you get fired you become a head coach? Take time and learn how to read, I said if you care claiming Blache is so great, why isn't he a head coach like other defensive coordinators.
Sure, give me 300 million dollar in players with "talent" and I'm sure my defense will rank in top 5 too. What did he do in Chicago when he wasnt given 300 million in players? NOTHING...
What makes you a guru because you know OHHHH sooo much about your God Blache? Instead of sitting there butthurt, here's a tissue go wipe your tears and you can join us in watching another redskin overhaul at the end of the year. Maybe you can bake cakes for Blache when he's looking for new job next year.
most teams with the 1st half schedule the skins had would be at the top in league defense
i can't stand to listen to Riggo when he is sober
Mr. Snyder, tear down that RFK and rebuild where your team belongs
Blache is a thin-skinned incompetent. Whatever credibility he had with me was lost when he blew up on Trevor Matich over some perceived criticism. Then a few weeks later, he decides he's not talking to the media.
He tells the media to hold him accountable for the failings of the defense and then chooses not to speak to the media.
With leadership like that, its no wonder the players aren't accountable.
most teams with the 1st half schedule the skins had would be at the top in league defense
i can't stand to listen to Riggo when he is sober
Mr. Snyder, tear down that RFK and rebuild where your team belongs
anybody guess that Blache wants the head coaching job?
I had a real bad feeling when Blache was ALREADY appointed as Defensive Co-ord PRIOR to the "release/non apointment/firing" of Gregg Williams.
SO THIS GUY forms the 3rd point of the Devil's Triange
Get used to it Snyder (owner) Cerrato (GM) Blache (Head Coach)
WHAT A SLIME BALL
I remember Gregg Williams being totally shocked that his "friend" went behind his back and took his job before even talking to Williams
IT IS GOING TO GET WORSE
here is a clue, Why do you think Blache got the #1 Pick for Orakpo on DEFENSE....when the O-Line was the genuine need
looks like Blache has been working like a THEIF IN THE NIGHT behind thye scenes
ANOTHER "YES MAN" for Danny !!!!!!!
Blache is a CREEP !!!!
HEY NINJA I AGREE BLACHE HAS DONE A HELL OF A JOB WITH OUR DEFENSE KEEPING THEM RANKED IN THE TOP FIVE IN THE NFL WHILE BEING ON THE FIELD ALMOST THE ENTIRE GAME TRYING TO BAIL OUR NON EXISTING OFFENSE OUT GOOD JOB GREG. AND AS FOR THE STINKING BEARS DID ANYONE ELSE SEE WHAT THE BENGALS DID TO THERE DEFENSE LOOKED LIKE THEY WERE PLAYING WITH FIVE GUYS ON THE FIELD THEY SHOULD WISH THEY STILL HAD BLACHE! GO SKINS!!!!!!
SORRY CEEKAY I ACCIDENTLY GAVE NINJASLEEZY CREDIT FOR YOUR INTELLIGENT COMMENT. HE IS A TOTAL IDIOT! GO SKINS.
Because writing in CAPS makes you so much more intelligent. LOL. Like I said, you can join ceekay in baking cakes for Blache as Redskins do ANOTHER coaching overhaul after the season ends.. what is that like 10 times in the past 10 years? LOL
This guy is a complete hypocrite. Suddenly, a month ago (after a year and half) he stops speaking to the media b/c of "anxiety attacks" however, today he's able to come out and defend $nyder. Without taking questions, I might add.
Get the feeling you don't hear "Shiny Happy People" over the radio at Redskins Park.
Have fun in Hotlanta.