RICHMOND, Va. — When you think of the glory years for the Redskins under Joe Gibbs in the 1980s and 90s, you think of a number of things — Riggo, The Fun Bunch, The Posse and the Hogs, to name a few.
The Hogs became famous under offensive line coach Joe Bugel, and were widely considered one of the best offensive lines in NFL history, going to four Super Bowls and winning three. That unit included Jeff Bostic, Fred Dean, Hall of Famer Russ Grimm, Joe Jacoby, Mark May, George Starke and Rick “Doc” Walker.
Could we see a rebirth of the Hogs in 2016?
If Trent Williams has anything to say about it, we will. The anchor of the 2016 Redskins offensive line has named this year’s O-line “Hogs 2.0.” Williams took the entire offensive line to Houston a week before they were to report to Richmond to do some training and bonding before camp. All were in attendance except Brandon Scherff and Kory Lichtensteiger, who had prior commitments. Williams paid for all expenses, including Hogs 2.0 shirts.
“I haven’t talked to [former Hogs] to ask them if it was OK or not,” Williams said Wednesday at Training Camp. “I just figured that we were showing respect so I didn’t think anybody would have an issue with it.”
As it turns out, Bostic — one of those original Hogs — doesn’t have a problem with it at all.
“I think it’s exciting,” Bostic said. “It gives their offensive line a rallying call.”
Bostic spoke to the offensive line after practice on Tuesday and is very impressed with Trent’s initiative.
“I think Trent’s showing tremendous leadership in wanting to do this,” he said. “It’s bold. We cast a pretty big shadow.”
There are a number of factors that go into being successful, both on and off the field.
“You need to have the consistency of the same people being able to line up week, after week, after week,” he said.
It’s not just about the on-field stuff either, Bostic told them. He says his unit was a very close knit group that would bond away from football all the time.
“You have to interact with each other off the field,” Bostic told them. “You need to become friends, family. It’s got to all matter. When it does, the cohesiveness of your group is going to be bonding. When you get out on the field, you’re one. You’re the engine of this football team — all engine parts have to work together.”
The original Hogs opened up holes for John Riggins and set the tone for the Super Bowl runs. Bostic could see the same happening for current running back Matt Jones.
“I really like Matt Jones,” Bostic said. “He is the guy that hits the line and can break a tackle. He can break away. He is a rare combination. I was telling their group, you play a different game now. You’re not back in the 70s and 80s where people were running the ball 40-50 times a game. Now, you run it 20 times and unless you have something rolling, you’re going to throw it the majority of the time. The beauty is that the engine is still and always will be the offensive line. If you have a good offensive line, you’re going to win a lot of games.
Bostic also doesn’t think any of the original members will have an issue with the new Hogs.
“I don’t think any of the guys will have any problem with it. If they have nearly a remote part of success like we had, they’ll do great, believe me.”
