It's DeAngelo, not 'MeAngelo'

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By Ryan O'Halloran

He doesn't play physically enough. He searches for interceptions instead of staying with the game plan. He talks too much.

DeAngelo Hall knows those opinions still exist even after a productive opening seven games for the Washington Redskins. But just as during his messy exit from Atlanta and disastrous half-season with Oakland, he chooses not to care.

"They still think of me as the same person," Hall said. "I'm not ear-to-the-streets a whole lot, but I hear guys still bash me like they did when I was in Oakland. That goes with the territory. I'm misunderstood at times, and I roll with the punches."

Hall has successfully rebuilt his career with the Redskins, proving to be an effective every-down cornerback and, coach Jim Zorn hopes, a playmaker who can ignite the team's dormant punt return game starting Sunday against the Falcons.

Atlanta is where Hall spent the first four years of his career. The eighth pick in the 2004 draft, he intercepted 17 passes and made two Pro Bowls before a new regime decided he wasn't worth a new contract.

That divorce, coupled with his midseason release from the Raiders in 2008, prompted observers to call Hall "MeAngelo."

Occasionally, Hall vents - as he did Thursday. The subject was the Falcons in general and general manager Thomas Dimitroff in particular.

"I didn't trust Dimitroff at all - he lied to me several times," Hall said. "He promised me he was going to get [a new contract] done - and he's behind my back trying to shop me. ... Promises were made, and they lied. When they lied, I said, 'Can't trust them. I have to get out of here. I want to. I will.' That was my position."

Through a team spokesperson, Dimitroff declined to respond to Hall's accusation.