Ask Chris Horton
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM ETChris Horton
36 comments
Washington Redskins safety Chris Horton chatted live with NFL Nation on Monday, June 29, discussing Jason Campbell's offseason, the addition of Albert Haynesworth, playing for coach Zorn and his outlook on his second NFL season.
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Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
Hey everyone. Glad to be here with you for the chat today. I'm ready for your questions. -
Mike, Lancaster, PA
4:06 PM ET
Brian Westbrook Marion Barber Brandon Jacobs Who is tougher to stop?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
All those guys are good RBs, but I would have to say the hardest to paly against is Barber. He's got it all -- the speed and the power. I like going up against him because he's looking to hit you. As a safety, that's what you want. -
LJ, Mo County, MD
4:08 PM ET
From what I have see from Orakpo in College how do you feel he will improve an already top 5 defense?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
Bringing in Orakpo, it just adds to all the speculation about how we couldn't get to the QB last year. Bringing in this guy, with the motor he has, he has a motor that never stops. Once you add that to a defense that was already in the top five, that pressure from the edge, it's going to help us get to the QB. -
NOVA, Ashburn
4:09 PM ET
When you see Chris Cooley running with the ball in practice do you think a) Who let this escaped mental patient on the field b) He looks like a week old fawn running c) There is no way anyone who runs that goofy had be that hard to tackle
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
You have to go with "C" Nova. This guy is really hard to tackle, and everyone makes fun of his running form, but he does break a lot of tackles! -
Josh, PA
4:11 PM ET
FAN of you since UCLA days... What are a few songs you listen to on your i-pod in pregame to pump you up?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
You know, the music I usually listen to on the Ipod is Little Wayne. Then I might throw in some Rick Ross or some young JayZ. Anything that will give me an edge, but no specific artists. But mainly, it's Little Wyane. -
CW, Petersburg, VA
4:13 PM ET
Do the guys have a nickname for you? I heard someone call you Sleepy last year for crashing on the bus.
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
Ohhhh, that's not really true. LOL. I don't know where you got that from.
One of them is Kanye. After the Saints game, Westbrook called me that, because of the song "Can't tell me nothing." He was saying no one could tell me nothing as a rookie after a sort of breakout game. So that's where that came from. Fred Smoot calls me K-Hort, just being new school and calling Chris with a K. That's where that comes from. But that's about it right now. -
alex, miami fl
4:16 PM ET
hey chris who is the biggest trash talking person in the redskins?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
The biggest trash talker, a lot of guys talk, but one guy who can really get after you is Fred Smoot. Some of the things that come out of his mouth, you just say, "Wow." He might be the biggest trash talker I've ever been around! -
Tyreek, Seattle, WA
4:17 PM ET
WHy do you wear number 48?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
When I got to the Redskins, that was the number that they gave me. Kind of like when I got to UCLA, they gave me 14. I'm the type of person who believes the player makes the number, not the other way around. The Redskins told me I could change it after roster cutdowns, but I wanted to keep it. -
Nathaniel, Wisconsin
4:19 PM ET
What are your comments on the Redskins'- Cowboys rivalry? Do you enjoy those games the most?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
That is a big rivalry game. It kind of brings back that UCLA-USC rivalry. I never knew that the Redskins didn't like the Cowboys that much. The longer that I'm in Washington, the more it will grow on me. Those games are fun. It's going to be physical, it's going to be the type of game that I like to play. Those are the games where we get after each other. -
Alex, Montreal, Canada
4:20 PM ET
Hi Chris, who is your favorite safety now playing in the NFL ... and why??
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
My fav right now is Troy Polamalu. I just feel like the way he plays so hard, and the fact that he's a really smart football player, that as I try to look at my game I'm watching him. What he does on the field, he's always making plays. When you have a safety who plays in the box like he does and is always making plays, you just can't beat that. -
Hoss, Lynchburg,VA
4:25 PM ET
What is it like playing for Coach Zorn?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
It's fun. Coach Zorn is a player's coach. That's the kind of coach you want to be around. He's like an everyday guy. Sometimes coaches are strict. He's funny, too. He's fun to be around. He's a California dude. Most importantly, he's easy to talk to as a coach. -
Larry, Bealeton
4:26 PM ET
Hey chris big fan of you. The team recently went bowling, how well did you bowl?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
You know, I bowl a lot. It's one of the things I do in my spare time when I get a chance. So, out of over 100 guys, including the coaches, I finished 16th. I think my high that day was a 148, but I just recently bowled a 177 against my agent. And I won. LOL. -
Nick, Maryland
4:27 PM ET
Which reciever would you least like to see running deep on your half of the field?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
Good question Nick. Probably not Randy Moss. The guy has unbelievable ball skills, and then he's tall. He just makes plays when he's out there, especially on the deep ball. -
alex, miami fl
4:28 PM ET
who was your favorite nfl player growing up?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
My favorite player, as a safety, was Ronnie Lott. I enjoyed watching him play. I've always like the Bills for some reason ... so I grew up and was always watching them. I liked Andre Reed. -
Mychal Mecca, Richmond Va
4:29 PM ET
Is Portis a big trash talker in practice?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
You know, he's actually not. He's pretty laid-back. I never hear him talking too much. But he is a good joke teller. -
Bob , Buffalo, NY
4:31 PM ET
how do u feel about gettin albert haynesworth and what impact he will make?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
The first thing I thought when I met him is that he's a really, really big guy. If he continues to play the way he has his whole career, I think he'll cause trouble down the middle. He can get into the throwing lanes of the QBs, and hey, that's just more INTs for us defensive backs!
We'll still run the same defense, and it's def been fun working with him. He'll allow more people to make more plays. -
tom, new york
4:33 PM ET
is the team behind Jason Campbell after managment tried to replace him twice during the offseason?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
As players, I hear the offensive guys say it all the time, we're going to stick with our QB. Jason is our QB, and that's who we're going to win games with. I think he's done a great job of handling the situation. As a team, we're going to ride with Jason, through thick or thin. -
Ezra, Silver Spring
4:36 PM ET
What are you most looking forward to this season as you enter into your "sophmore" year?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
This season, as my second year, I want to continue to build on making plays and eliminate mental mistakes. I think other than that, things will take care of themselves. I'm a football player, and it's just what I do. So when I see certain things, I want to just be able to react. On top of that, I want to look to being a little bit more of a leader, even though it's just my second year. -
Joe, Richmond, VA
4:38 PM ET
Who's the fastest Redskin? I've heard Deangelo & I've heard Moss.
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
That's actually hard to say Joe. I'm going to have to throw Santana Moss and LaRon Landry race. Those are the two. I've seen Landry run, and I've seen Santana get after it. But our corners are fast too -- Carlos Rogers and DeAngelo Hall. It's hard to say, but those are the two I'd like to see race. -
Jordan, Sandusky,OH
4:40 PM ET
Chris who on the team did u look up to most as a rookie last season?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
I spent a lot of time, whenever there were a lot of things going on, I would ask London Fletcher about things. He's a guy I have a lot of respect for. I love the way he plays. I would spend a lot of time watching how he works. -
jr, tallahassee
4:42 PM ET
drafting orakpo and picking up haynesworth, how does this help out the secondary.
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
Those guys and where they're playing, they'll help the secondary because the rush will have speed from the outside and power up the middle.
Anytime you can get the QB to move around, and really effect his timing with the receivers, that impacts the whole defense. They do their job, and we do our job covering, and that turns into sacks. -
Seth, Oregon
4:43 PM ET
Chris how do you shove all that hair in a helmet?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
Seth, it's pretty easy. You just put your helmet. But, if you wonder why I never take my helmet off during a game, it's because I don't want to deal with the hair! Guys always give me crap because I won't take it off. -
Mychal Mecca, Richmond Va
4:45 PM ET
Reading Chris Cooleys blog, every week it seemed he was a huge rookie hazer especially to Colt, was he the worst to all of the rookies last year?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
Ha! He might have been the worst of the offensive guys. He didn't get me too bad. But the defensive guys, they would tape up an area around me locker and only let me use so much space. Cooley is just funny to me. -
Dan, Hailredskins
4:46 PM ET
Whats up Chris? Who will surprise us this year?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
I think, as far as young guys, on defense Justin Tryon is making big improvements. I'm interested in seeing him play. Then Kareem Moore, he came in with me last year. I just want to see how those two do this year. -
Z, Bedford, Va
4:48 PM ET
More exciting playing college ball or Pro ball? Why?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
That's a really good question. To me, they're almost the same. You just get a different crowd of fans. In college, your crowd is your student body, and it's a different atmosphere. In the pros, it's not as young, but they're die-hard fans. But they're really both on the same level. There's really not a huge difference between college and pro football to me, other than you're playing on Sundays. -
Nathaniel, Wisconsin
4:50 PM ET
Who brings the most energy and leadership to your team on gameday?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
Last year, it was Marcus Washington. He's a guy who is just fired up and everyone loves to see in action. During pregame, it was all about Marcus. I've heard that he was even involved in comign up with the pregame music list ... not sure if that's true or not. But if so, that's just awsome. -
Big D, Florida
4:52 PM ET
what do u need to do to improve your game more? and whos going to have more INT's u or landry?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
To improve my game, I just need to continue to say in the film room and understand how teams attack certain defenses. Other than that, I think I'm OK, other than just getting more experience.
Ha! That's a good question. I don't want to jinx myself, and I don't want to jinx Landry. We'll have to see, Big D. -
ted, miami
4:54 PM ET
What is it like playing next to laron landry?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
It's actually fun playing next to him. We've seen a lot of each other, back to high school. It's been one of those things, where people used to ask what it would be like if we played together. I'm excited for us to be back there together again this season. I think we compliment each other well. I think we're both going to have good seasons. -
Dean Mackert, Fort Worth, Texas
4:56 PM ET
Predator, Be honest, as a 7th round pick, did you really think a year ago that you would have the opportunity to lock up the starting job for the Washington Redskins? Good luck this season, continue to be a terror on the field!
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
Honestly, coming in, I thought being drafted that late I thought I would be a body for camp. But with my mentality, I wanted to make the team however I could. I didn't have a clue that I'd be starting by the second game of the year. I might have been the most nervous ever on a game day.
But coming in, I didn't think that. I just wanted to make the team however I could. Throughout OTAs and minicamp and camp last year, I thought I did enough things well to give myself a fair chance to make the team. Did I know I was going to be a starter? No clue. -
Eric , Silver Spring
4:59 PM ET
Do you know the words to Hail to the Redskins?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
No, I actually don't know the words to that one. That might not be good to tell Redskins Nation that? I'm learning them! -
M.Williams, Oakland,ca
5:00 PM ET
yo chris...was there any added presure knowing u had to fill the shoes of the great Sean taylor?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
No, not at all. I knew coming in, I would never compare myself to him. I just couldn't. I didn't let that really affect me at all. Everyone wants to talk about it. But with all due respect, he was one of my favorite players, and I knew that I couldn't be him. I just wanted to play the way that I play, and be my own player. -
alex, cancun
5:02 PM ET
first, you're a great safety and i'm a fan. ok, question, how do you see jason campbell preparing for this season? since it's an important season for him.
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
I think he prepares the same way he's been preparing. Honestly, he might spend more time doing some things, but you can't change the way you prepare now. It's like anything else new -- you have to go through your downs before you go through your ups. I think he'll be OK.
You always hope there's an improvement into a second year in the same system. I think he'll improve, but we'll have to wait and see. What he's doing this offseason, he's giving himself a chance for that improvement. -
Kevin, Mclean, VA
5:06 PM ET
what do you think your overall madden rating will be this year?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
I really don't know! It's all about how people see you and the actual people who make the game. Hopefully it's better than last year, although I don't really remember what it was. I think I did enough last year that hpefully it's better, right? -
Alandus , Hampton, VA
5:07 PM ET
Whats gud Chris im a real big redskins fan and also a madden fan, as a player how does madden ratings effect the team? are they taken seriously and r they used as a motivational tool if you dont receive the rating u think u deserve
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
You know, I don't think a lot of guys actually care. It's a video game ... but when you're talking with your friends, they'll def talk about it ... espcially if their rating is better than your rating. They'll let you know. It's a way for guys to talk trash. -
Patrick, Salisbury, Md
5:09 PM ET
Hi Chris - can you give us any insight or maybe debunk some of the rumors (about insubordination, lack of respect, etc.at the OTA's) that have been circling about CP and Coach Zorn?
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
I just think that's old news. Both those guys settled whatever they had going on. That situation was just two grown men, in the heat of battle. I guarantee you that every player on our team has the utmost respect for coach Zorn. I think it really came down to us losing games. When you lose, there is negativity. But you have to move on from it, and we have. -
Chris Horton, Washington Redskins
Appreciate the questions today, they were good! Sorry I didn't get to answer all of them -- I'd like to chat with you again sometime soon. When camp rolls around, you can also keep up with me on my personal site at http://www.predator48.com/.
Thanks,
Chris
