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The Washington Redskins' defensive coordinator broke his media silence Thursday to launch a vigorous defense of the team owner, saying, "Enough's enough."
Blache said he was moved to speak after reading comments made by Hall of Fame running back John Riggins. In an interview on Showtime's "Inside the NFL," scheduled to be broadcast Wednesday night, Riggins said Snyder is a "bad guy" and that the owner's "heart is dark."
Blache described Snyder as "one of the most generous, kind individuals you could ever meet" and said that people outside of the organization don't get a chance to know the owner. Blache declined to take questions.
In the interview on "Inside the NFL," Riggins was asked why he thought Snyder was a bad guy. He cited the owner's "business practices," then said: "It's driven all by his ego and everything has to come from him. And I just don't think you can be successful in those situations and when you are dealing with someone with the mindset of a child and yet owns a franchise in the NFL."
Asked to comment further, Riggins did, according to a transcript provided by Showtime.
"This person knows nothing about football, absolutely nothing," he said of Snyder. "I don't think they have a clue how a football team comes together, how it works. And yet they are the ones that are basically calling all the shots through a puppet, which is [vice president for football operations] Vinny Cerrato. That is my take on it."
Blache defended Snyder in a meeting Thursday with reporters.
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"This is a man I've known for six years, since I've been here," Blache said. "And in the six years, I've never seen John Riggins here. I met him once at the Beach Blitz down in Virginia Beach -- never seen him in the building. So, to hear such a vicious criticism of somebody I consider not just my employer, but a good friend, bothered me."
Blache cited Snyder's charity work and his dealings with Blache and Blache's wife.
"We've had criticisms from people outside the building saying who Dan Snyder is and who he isn't," Blache said. "They don't know Dan Snyder and that's the problem. Trust me because he and I, we work together. I'm not going to tell you that this is a utopia. There are no utopias in football, and there are no utopias in life. At the same time, enough is enough. Every story, there is one person's side, another person's side, and then behind it all there is a third side and it's the truth.
"I just felt like it was time for somebody to come and throw a little truth out there," Blache said. "We keep hearing these other sides, these other factions, and to be quite candid, the third side -- the truth -- is that this person, all he wants to do is win. That's all he wants to do. He will spend his money, he will spend his time, he wants to win, he is here for the people, for the fans, for the Washington Redskins.
"Nobody pains more when we are unsuccessful than Dan Snyder. There is nobody that cares more about the fans than Dan Snyder. There is nobody that wants to win here, more than Dan Snyder. I just think that it's time to put out there, for you guys to understand, that everything that is wrong with this organization is not Dan Snyder."
Snyder has been a popular target for criticism from fans, ex-players and pundits for the state of the Redskins, who are 2-5 and have won only two playoff games in his 10 years of ownership. Snyder broke his own media silence earlier this week to apologize to the fans on behalf of the organization.
Blache, who stopped speaking to the media four weeks ago for unspecified reasons, walked away after his statement and did not take questions.
After practice Thursday, coach Jim Zorn supported Blache's position, saying: "I would concur that Dan Snyder is a guy that absolutely cares about other people."
"Some of the words that are said are just so harsh," Zorn said. "All the time. It just seems like everybody's down, and part of that is on me. We're losing, and that creates issues. And I think that's more of the problem than anything, is losing, and I want to help change that."
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