From Pompei's mailbag...

[SonnyJ]

Thanks for your column, wisdom and insights. I'm living overseas, but still follow my favorite team, the Redskins. The last 10 years have not been the best for the 'Skins and I wonder how you feel about their prospects under Steve Spurrier. I'm worried that he'll be too much of a hands-off coach, given his love of golfing down in Florida. Do you think the Redskins have a playoff run in the making this year? Thanks again.

Charlie McClellan

Koahsiung, Taiwan

*** Charlie: I believe Steve Spurrier will be an outstanding NFL coach. He has a special offensive mind, and that can overcome a lot of deficiencies. As for his "hands-off" approach, if he lacked the necessary commitment, how did he win so many games in college? Working 18-hour days is way overrated, in my opinion. Someone who is intelligent and efficient might be able to get more done in a 12-hour day than someone else can get done in an 18-hour day.

It's possible the Redskins can be a playoff team this year, but they still have a lot of holes. And I wonder if team owner Dan Snyder will allow us to see the best of Spurrier.

WTF does that last sentence mean? I suppose it's a reference to giving Spurrier enough time to really do damage.

Do these guys have a special button that inserts a slam at Snyder in any story they write about the Redskins?

[Luca Brasi]

Originally posted by SonnyJ

Do these guys have a special button that inserts a slam at Snyder in any story they write about the Redskins?

I think they do. I guess it's easy to hate a guy who's accomplished more and has more than any of these writers could ever dream of. I guess that's what they're paid for.

[scottb]

I wonder if Danny had a run in of some sort with Pompeii. He seems to go out of his way to insert something negative about Snyder in most every Redskin piece he writes.

[GURU]

C'mon, guys. Snyder has earned his reputation for being impatient and meddlesome. When writers were taking shots at Jerry Jones, I didn't hear Skins fans opining about the media being biased against him.

Look, Snyder is rich. But that's a compeletely different kind of accomplishment than running a successful NFL franchise. He's got to earn respect for that, and so far he's had mixed results. Jon Jansen has a legitimate gripe about stability, and Snyder's the only one to point a finger at. Plus, he's reinserted himself into the brain trust, and some of the offseason moves, especially the draft, have been curious. You're being naive if you don't expect people to be skeptical. I still am.

I'm excited about the prospects under Spurrier, but I'm am still waiting to see how Snyder reacts if things go roughly his first season.

Sorry, I'm one of the biggest Skins fans in the world, but Snyder still hasn't erased my impression of him being a mini Napolian--yet.

[bulldog]

stability?

this team had stability from 1994-2000 and it produced mediocre results at best. Turner was one of the longest tenured coaches in the NFL and could never seem to get over the hump.

my belief is that Marty WOULD have been a coach here for several seasons IF he had not arrived on the scene 50% more arrogant and aloof as he had been in previous stops in Cleveland and Kansas City.

in those stops he had been a disciplinarian but had the check of an active front office in Ernie Accorsi and Carl Peterson to monitor his excesses.

the Redskins gave him too much power, a point that was realized in the preseason when the players just failed to show up for the game en masse. this continued into the worst first month of a season in Redskins history :mad:

the truth is as the team was structured under Marty, no star players (other than perhaps LaVar) were going to stay with the team. and we sure weren't going to be able to go out and sign any top-tier free agents.

word got around the NFL the Redskins had alarms on the doors and cameras in the parking lot and no one did anything or said anything without it being tracked back to Emperor Marty.

a change had to be made. Marty wasn't going to make any front office or coaching changes even though everyone knew Jimmy Raye and the offensive staff had done a poor job in 2001 and Marty had done a poor job in managing the qb position throughout the offseason.

Marty has the potential to be a solid coach in SD precisely because he has been relieved of all that responsibility and is back to being an on field coach and 'teacher' as he said he liked to be.

Clearly, the 'Marty wearing all the hats' scenario was not going to work long term, and Snyder moved to cut it off before another year was lost in the 'dead zone' of mediocrity.

Imagine Marty here right now. No optimism about a new offensive system. No name signings in the offseason. restricted access to the coaching staff and self-serving press conferences that told you little about the team. Darrell Green being forced out despite still beingthe team's 3rd best cornerback. Bruce Smith hanging it up in 2002 and leaving us with a $5 million hole on the cap.

no, that would clearly have been a mistake.

[SonnyJ]

Sorry, Guru, but I don't agree.

Snyder has NEVER come close to the ultimate bonehead move pulled off by Jones - slaying the golden goose. JJ's whacking of Johnson after two super bowl victories is the ultimate in napoleonic meddling. If he keeps Johnson, that team very easily could have won at least one more Super Bowl (on top of the one they won in '95).

JJ proceeded to run a string of awful drafts - we can't say that about Snyder.

Things don't get much rougher than last year's 0-5 start - the team was historically bad. What did we hear from Snyder? I can't remember a peep out of him.

Other than an overall aura you get from Snyder, what has he done that gives you an impression of him being a mini-Napoleon? I'll give you the Deion signing - he never should have given Deion that large a bonus. I draw blanks beyond that.

My point was that so many of the national articles seem to take that obligatory shot at Snyder - but nothing is backed up with hard fact. It's just leading innuendo - "You know what they say about that guy" kinda stuff. Seeing the situation as I perceive it, the shot just comes off as being shallow and ill-informed.

[scottb]

Guru, the difference is in the degree and tone. I agree with you that Snyder has yet to distinguish himself as an owner. His main feat to date is his obvious desire to win and his passion for the franchise...but passion and money alone do not make a great owner. He has made errors in judgement and they have hurt the team. However, often times the media comments are mean spirited, personal in nature, and not germaine to the point of the article.

Furthermore, Snyder doesn't seem to recieve credit for lessons learned. He admits his mistakes, yet the media ignores the event and consequenses. I was impressed that he really did give Marty a free hand and his abandonment of the circus training camp. I hope this trend of "learning" eventually becomes unnecessary.

Until then, it would be nice to have some objectivity and not rely upon the slurs of others when preparing their pieces.

[Murilo Bustamante]

Guys like Pompei have been wrong about Snyder since day one, and that's why they hate him.

They thought we never should have fired Norv (no surprise, Pompei is Cryboy fan).

They said that when we signed Bruce and Carrier, Snyder wouldn't be able to sign his other free agents. Snyder then went out and signed Davis, Coleman, and all the other free agents. So then they said that Snyder wouldn't be able to get the rooks into camp. So Snyder did. Then they said it would blow up the cap. The Skins have had some cap tightness, but have always been in the middle of the pack cap-wise for the last two years, and now the worst is over. These idiots, like Pompei, didn't realize that in 2000 we had almost no high-paid players at all (except Stubby and Big Daddy), which is why we had the cap room to pull off so many moves.

They also said it was foolish to make a trade so far before the draft in 2000, when Snyder traded two picks to get the #3 overall pick. In the draft in 2000, other teams later traded four picks to move up less. And the Skins walked off with Arrington and Samuels.

They said that the Skins' offseason moves in 2000 would doom the team long-term, but in 2000 the Skins would be strong (I *loved* the hypocrisy of these kinds of Pompei/Dr. Z predictions in 2000- "Snyder made some terrible moves in the offseason, but I predict them to go 12-4 and win the NFC East"). Instead, the 2000 Skins were mediocre but the long-term situation is bright.

They said having camp in Ashburn would mean a slow start to the season because other teams could scout us. We started 6-2.

They said that Snyder would never be able to get a top coach after the way he treated Norv. He promptly went out and got Schottenheimer and then Spurrier and Lewis.

Basically, guys like Pompei and Dr. Z have been useful gauges for the Skins over the last three years. Everything they say has been completely, totally, unarguably false.

[redman]

Originally posted by SonnyJ

Other than an overall aura you get from Snyder, what has he done that gives you an impression of him being a mini-Napoleon? I'll give you the Deion signing - he never should have given Deion that large a bonus. I draw blanks beyond that.

- Entering the team locker room repeatedly to debrief Norv, thereby undercutting his authority with the team. (And I'm not even a Norv fan.)

- Firing Norv at 7-6 without confirming that Rhodes would agree to take the head job, and thereafter insulting Robiskie by demonstrating that he was not his first choice.

- Signing Jeff George.

-Acting like we'd had it made in the 2000 preseason by signing FA's, when we hadn't won a thing.

- Failing, even still, to find a good GM to accompany his coach, and continually going back and forth with his front office people like Cerrato and Mendes.

I happen to generally favor Snyder, but he's had plenty of screw ups. Don't just view him with rose-colored glasses.

[Zen-like Todd]

- Firing Norv at 7-6 without confirming that Rhodes would agree to take the head job, and thereafter insulting Robiskie by demonstrating that he was not his first choice.

- Signing Jeff George.

-Acting like we'd had it made in the 2000 preseason by signing FA's, when we hadn't won a thing.

I liked all three of those. It's all a matter of opinion. Take off your doom and gloom glasses.

[Zen-like Todd]

BTW, isn't mini-napoleon kinda redundant?

[GURU]

Well, in all due respect, I think hiring Schottenheimer was a mistake from the beginning.

And the mini Napolean thing? Thanks, redman.

I don't have anything personal against Snyder. I don't have any great love or respect for the guy, either. I think he is a smart guy. He's become extremely rich at a young age and he did it without being given anything. I respect him for that. But I think that, sometimes, he acts just like a privileged prima donna who's come into "old money," at times. Other than being rich and owning the Redskins, he's not really notable, and I think he likes the idea of hobnobbing with real celebrities.

He acts like he's got a chip on his shoulder, and he likes to prove to everyone how smart he is. But he's his own worst enemy sometimes, because he's still looking for validation, but seeks it in syccophants and ***-kissers. So, he often surrounds himself with idiots, like Pepper Rogers, or guys that use him, like Deion Sanders. I mean, Snyder is downright comical, at times. If you can't see why writers pick on him, I just don't know what to say.

Frankly, I don't think he's done anything any one of us here couldn't have done if we were in his postition. Actually, I think some of us here could have done a better job, overall, than Snyder has done.

I hope Snyder is successful, because he owns my favorite football team. But I feel no need to defend this guy just because he does.

[Henry]

Could be worse. Snyder could move the team, charge for PSLs, fire a coach that had just won you back-to-back superbowls, be a cheap SOB, or do any number of other things I consider worse than being short, young, rich and obnoxious. So he yelled at a lousy coach, signed some players for too much money and tinkered with the front office. Good heavens, that doesn't make him the worst owner in the NFL. I can think of probably 10 off the top of my head that could easily fit that bill before Snyder.

But Snyder still gets more grief. That's the issue.

[GURU]

Yes, it could be worse. No doubt. But that's not the point.

Snyder is a lightning rod because he makes himself so high-profile. Some of the other owners, who are much worse in my opinion, are ignored by the media because they don't put themselves in a position to be second-guessed all the time.

Look, speculating about how Snyder might react if Spurrier struggles in his first season is perfectly legit. Any sports reporter who doesn't wonder about this is a numbskull. And he's a coward if he doesn't say it out loud or put it in writing.

I think the worst you can say about most members of the NFL media is that they aren't Redskins fans. Who cares?

[redman]

Originally posted by TheChosenOne

I liked all three of those. It's all a matter of opinion. Take off your doom and gloom glasses.

That's feeble, especially after I finished my post by saying that I generally favored Snyder. But I can play this game.

-What did firing Norv at 7-6 rather than at the end of the season get us?

- Why was signing Jeff George a good thing? What on earth did he ever do for us?

- Why was acting like we'd already won the Super Bowl in the 2000 preseason a good thing? Frankly I think as much as anything else, it's turned the media off towards us since then because they bought into the hype and then looked stupid because of it. They've extracted their revenge ever since.

If it's all a matter of opinion, kindly explain yours.

[redman]

Originally posted by Henry

Could be worse.

That's hardly a ringing endorsement.

Great summation GURU.

[Henry]

Originally posted by GURU

Yes, it could be worse. No doubt. But that's not the point.

And that wasn't my point either. I'm glad we understand eachother.

Snyder is a lightning rod because he makes himself so high-profile. Some of the other owners, who are much worse in my opinion, are ignored by the media because they don't put themselves in a position to be second-guessed all the time.

Translation: He's an easy target. You can bash him and noone will be critical of you.

Look, speculating about how Snyder might react if Spurrier struggles in his first season is perfectly legit. Any sports reporter who doesn't wonder about this is a numbskull. And he's a coward if he doesn't say it out loud or put it in writing.

Now that's a laugh, Guru. Taking a pot-shot at Snyder is much easier and low risk than going after Bill Bidwill for being a cheap, money grubbing owner, or Georgia Fontiere for inhereting a team and then promptly moving it to St Louis. Or Art Modell, for fleecing his fans with PSLs (not to mention orchestrating the most infamous move in NFL history.) Nah, be brave and bash Little-Napolean-Danny-Boy-Adolf. That's really sticking your neck out there.

I think the worst you can say about most members of the NFL media is that they aren't Redskins fans. Who cares?

Not me. Just like you don't hate everything Snyder does, I don't approve of everything he does either. But I do wish people who are paid to know more about this team than I do could actually do some homework and come up with some news and actual original thought rather than just parroting the Dan Snyder joke du jour. That's not news, and it's not useful.

THAT's the point.

[GURU]

Actually, guys like Dan Pompei aren't paid to know more about the Redskins than you do. He's paid to know more than you about 32 NFL teams and dozens of college teams, their players, and their organization.

And if you actually do read about other teams, you would realize just how harsh some of these guys are on other owners when mistreat the fans or are just generally stupid. Bidwell is cheap. His runs a losing franchise and doesn't seem to care. And he is also one of the most boring people in sports. He's not news.

Modell got tons of brutal, negative press when he moved to Baltimore. But that's old news. He's won a Super Bowl, too, which tends to quiet critics.

Frontiere is old news.

The Browns in Cincy are about as incompetent as you can get. And cheap, to boot. But that's been the story for years and years. Nothing new.

But Snyder? He tries, and I emphasize "tries," to make a big splash seemingly every year. He throws money around and makes noise about it. He makes himself the hot story. We're not talking about rumors, either. It's not a rumor that he charges the highest ticket prices in the league. Or that he charged admission for training camp one year. Or that he spent lavishly on a team that went 8-8 and fired it's coach while they still had a shot at the playoffs. Or that he hired a coach that publicly said he wouldn't want to coach for him. And then fired him after one season and signed an untested coach for the highest figure in the history of the NFL. Then presided over a draft that, at first glance, might not produce a single starter or significant contributer on a team that could have used some more help up front on both sides of the ball.

This doesn't beg for scrutiny? And even ridicule?

Are you kidding me?

[SonnyJ]

Originally posted by redman

- Entering the team locker room repeatedly to debrief Norv, thereby undercutting his authority with the team. (And I'm not even a Norv fan.)

Did this undercut Norv's authority? Do you know what his approach was? Is he the only owner that does this? Are you certain this manuver was detrimental to the team?

- Firing Norv at 7-6 without confirming that Rhodes would agree to take the head job, and thereafter insulting Robiskie by demonstrating that he was not his first choice.

I'll grant you this - I thought it was poor timing. I don't think it mattered though. That team was done and had packed it in. Norv dug his own grave. IT was haphazard though, the way he went about it. Did it make a difference? He's still been able to get Schottenheimer and Spurrier (and Lewis).

- Signing Jeff George.

What's the problem here? The team was gearing up for a Super Bowl run - who else should the team have signed to backup Johnson? I'm no Jeff George fan, in fact I think he's a *****, but he was coming off a stellar (Pro Bowl?) season with the Vikings. Pretty decent insurance for not much money.

-Acting like we'd had it made in the 2000 preseason by signing FA's, when we hadn't won a thing.

Other than Deion, who was an egregious signing? As far as acting like he had it made, I can't judge that. I rarely watch interviews with owners, athletes, coaches, etc. because they tend to be boring. I never heard that he was preparing his Lombardi Trophy acceptance speech, though.

- Failing, even still, to find a good GM to accompany his coach, and continually going back and forth with his front office people like Cerrato and Mendes.

Certainly, I'd like to see Ron Wolf with the team. Wasn't too crazy about Beathard returning. I actually kind of like Mendes and thought the team made some good signings this offseason. I guess we'll have to see how this arrangement works out. Why are you so quick to denigrate the current regime?

I happen to generally favor Snyder, but he's had plenty of screw ups. Don't just view him with rose-colored glasses. [/b]

Didn't realize my glasses were so rosy. Could I borrow some black and gray paint for them, please? Frankly, Snyder seems obnoxious, overbearing, and imperious - not sterling personal qualities.

However, I don't judge him from this perspective when the issue is the Redskins. I ask myself this - Is this franchise better off now than before he became the owner? IMO, unequivocally yes. My beef with the sportswriters is their intimation, through the constant snide comments, is that the team would be in good shape as long as Snyder can put a cork in his ruinous meddling. I think this is patently unfair. They are just taking a gratuitous potshot at him because he's kind of a jerk. From a football perspective, though, there is very little to support the claim that he has made one blunder after another.

I'm certain that I would handle things differently than Snyder. Doesn't mean I'm right, though. The fact is though that, sad as it is to say, this team has enjoyed its best 3 year run since the days of St. Joe while under Snyder's ownership.

You and Guru can certainly nit-pick away at certain incidents and spin them whichever way you want, and your conclusion is just as valid as mine. However, if you are going to say that the sportswriters are correct in their snipes about Snyder that intimate his actions frequently are detrimental to the team's success, well, you're WRONG. As I stated previously, the only egregious move of his, that was sincerely to the detriment of the team, was the large signing bonus given to Deion. The snide comments would indicate it happens much more frequently. It just doesn't. It's used as a crutch.

The record just doesn't support this viewpoint.

[Art]

Some of the comments here are downright comical. It was a bad football decision to sign Jeff George to a $2 million signing bonus spread over four seasons with a $1 million cap hit? This for a QB coming off the NFC Championship game with 2800 yards, 23 TDs and only 12 interceptions in only 10 games as a starter.

Please. George was a superior backup for Johnson. Not only did it protect the team against injury to Johnson, but, it also put some pressure on Johnson and Johnson needed to be pressured a little to see how he'd lead. That he failed was probably a good thing to have found out before sinking a fat contract in for him.

But, the point is, Jeff George was an excellent signing at the time. That Snyder gets bashed for this signing just shows how far people must go to bash Snyder. I thought George could succeed under Marty and I was clearly wrong on that. But, Marty's decision to pay him substantial dollars and then cut him for a larger cap hit than we could have cut him for in March is not on Dan Snyder.

Guru writes just above that it's not a "rumor" the Redskins have the highest ticket prices in the league. Actually, Guru, it IS a rumor. In fact, the Redskins do not have the highest ticket prices in the league. Well, depending on how you average the cost. Other teams don't have PSLs or their club seats factored into the equation, yet, we do. If we were rated just on the General Admission price, we are not in the Top 10 in ticket cost. But, because they lump in the Club seats, we are. But, I bet you didn't know there was a difference in how our numbers are reported versus other teams.

Why?

Because we must go to great lengths to bash Snyder. He moves the team to the D.C. area, saving fans interested in attending camp the price of multiple tanks of gas and hotel stays, charges them $10 bucks with another $10 for parking because the County said he could only have so many people at a time and he needed a way to count those people, and also deter some from showing up. But, this is a bad thing. Moving the camp saved the average fan who wanted to attend camp about $100 bucks. Moving the camp allowed the average fan to actually attend camp knowing they could skip out for an afternoon practice and not miss much work.

Bad Snyder. You jerk.

Now, I agree moving camp to the Park was a bad idea in a football sense, but, really, Snyder's not getting bashed for making a bad football move. He's getting bashed for reasons people who should know better should not be stating.

Not liking Snyder is perfectly acceptable. But, dammit. At least pick the right reasons, of which, there are more than a couple.