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Why I didn't blame Smoot and won't blame Cooley.


Art

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Many fans have made comments about Smoot since his return that he left to "chase the money". He certainly did leave for more money than we paid, but, the measure of anger we, as fans, should work up for that in the case of Smoot and players like him is less anger than we should work up for other players we come across.

Here's why.

Smoot was a player who fell out of the first round. His rookie contract was modest in comparison to others. As fans, we identified Smoot, as we have Cooley, as a player who'd outperformed the value of his contract. As a player who deserved an early re-up. The team never did. And when his time came to be free, Smoot, having not made much money in four years, took as much as he could possibly make in Year 5. It was the mistake of the team, not a character flaw in the player, that led to the loss of Smoot.

Just as it will for Cooley if the team doesn't act soon. Just as it would have for Betts had the team not DRAMATICALLY overpaid Betts based on his performance to the point of his extension in his career, yet, what very quickly became an apparent bargain.

Many people have problems with how our front office operates. Most of those complaints are simply invalid worries of fools. The most significant flaw we have as a football operation is not identifying the "core" player sooner in his contract, and locking him up at prices that, for the time of extension are more than the player deserves, but, that turn out to be far less than he'd get if his progression remains in line.

This means players like Smoot then, Betts recently and Cooley now need to be resigned well before they enter a contract year. Players who drastically outplay their contract, who are young and popular and epitomize what we're about as a team, need to be identified more rapidly and solidified. You do that, and you find such players don't wind up being free until the end of their prime. At that point, they might take less to simply stay put. See Darrell Green as an example.

Right now there are few enough on the roster who deserve this consideration. Cooley needs money now. Do it NOW. We don't know enough about Rocky, yet, but, if the team believes he's the answer for the next four or five years, sign HIM NOW to a contract like Betts, which is more than he deserves, but far less than a contract for a consistent starter.

If we start doing this, while still enjoying the reasonably solid acquisition rate we have had in the past, we will start being able to really build on something. After this year will be too late to get a good deal on a guy like Cooley. But, Campbell might be the guy you identify next.

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You think we overpaid Betts? I think we underpaid for him. Especially after seeing what other players signed for this offseason.

That's his point in a nutshell. At the time, it appeared that we might have over paid for Betts, but now it looks like we got him for a steal. We have to do the same thing with Cooley.

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I agree with Cooley, but I disagree about Rocky. He's only in his second season. Lets let him do something before we extend him.

But the FO needs to pay Cooley NOW. I don't think he would stay in the NFC East (probably go out West to be closer to his family if he left the Skins), but regardless we don't want to find out.

PAY THAT MAN HIS MONEY!

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I agree completely on Cooley.

To not lock him up right now would be a dire mistake.

We all know what will happen if he hits the market as a UFA. The Redskins will undervalue him while other teams will overpay to bring him in just like we do with their free-agents.

To let Cooley walk would just be flat out inexcusable.

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You think we overpaid Betts? I think we underpaid for him. Especially after seeing what other players signed for this offseason.

I dont even want to think about Cooley leaving. We need to sign him ASAP. There are no excuses.

At the time we signed Betts, he received MUCH more than he'd proven to be worth on the football field. We "overpaid" for him at the moment of signing and then, a few weeks later, it appeared we got a GREAT deal. This is somewhat rare that a player signs one week and a few weeks later can legitimately be said to be worth far more than he just got, but, that's what happened with Betts.

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I agree with Cooley, but I disagree about Rocky. He's only in his second season. Lets let him do something before we extend him.

But the FO needs to pay Cooley NOW. I don't think he would stay in the NFC East (probably go out West to be closer to his family if he left the Skins), but regardless we don't want to find out.

PAY THAT MAN HIS MONEY!

The beauty of signing a guy like Rocky now is you can get him for a couple million guaranteed. Let him start for two seasons and it's $10 million if he does anything worth watching. Now, again, signing him really depends on what the staff feels his future worth might be to the team. They probably have a feel for how he'll do on the field when his time to play comes. If they think he's an answer, he's the kind of guy you can get now for very little and who could be a very big bargain in a few years.

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Thats how it works around here.We will let Cooley go and then sign another 3 or 4 players.Then all will be fine until we have another losing season.I for one will be really really mad if we let Cooley go.Then again it wouldn't surprise me at all.Nothing surprises me with this team anymore.I don't know if i will ever see them win a SB in my time and i am only 22.

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Overpay for Betts are you serious what did he sign a 5 yr 13 mill extension and you say overpay!

Read what was written. If you don't grasp the meaning, ask a more intelligent friend to color you out the answer. This is now twice you've decided to blither forward a request for data having not felt it worth your time to read what was provided you. If after reading what was written and having a view of it in a way that demonstrates you get it, feel free to ask questions or disagree.

There's great merit to being a loyal message board reader. Do not feel the need to post much if it's not something you do well.

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Let's not get carried away here, a "lifetime" deal :nono:

Why not? This will be his third season - sign him to a 7 year deal and if he lasts that long it will be well worth it. If not, he will not last the 7 years and we will not have to pay out the end of the contract (besides bonus). That way though we have him locked up like Art said.

Sounds smart to me.

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Thats how it works around here.We will let Cooley go and then sign another 3 or 4 players.Then all will be fine until we have another losing season.I for one will be really really mad if we let Cooley go.Then again it wouldn't surprise me at all.Nothing surprises me with this team anymore.I don't know if i will ever see them win a SB in my time and i am only 22.

Wow! That's a little harsh.

I know Redsox fans who had more faith when the Sox hadn't won for 84 years.

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Why not? This will be his third season - sign him to a 7 year deal and if he lasts that long it will be well worth it. If not, he will not last the 7 years and we will not have to pay out the end of the contract (besides bonus). That way though we have him locked up like Art said.

Sounds smart to me.

First of all seven years is not a "lifetime", at least not to me. Personally, I think if Campbell has a "huge" year this year we should sign him to a five year deal, just to make sure he is the real deal and he's not going anywhere.

QB's tend to have a life shelf of at least 10 years (on the field), that's why I say that seven (yes I know it's the max amount of years you can offer) is not a lifetime.

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Wow! That's a little harsh.

I know Redsox fans who had more faith when the Sox hadn't won for 84 years.

Its not harsh when you know what kind of owner you have.I would have more confidence if we knew how to keep our players.I am sick and tried of losing key core players.Pierce,Smoot,Clark and now Dock.Yet the same thing happens every year.When we let a players go everyone talks crap about him like he sucked.Everyone thinks we are going to have no problem replacing Dock.The funny thing is everyone thought that same thing with Pierce.It only took 2 years to fix our MLB.Well i mean lets hope Fletcher can fix that position.

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The iggles do this every year and is part of their "system." They rarely let their core young players who they want to keep get to free agency. Cooley is absolutely a guy who should get a new contract by midseason. Rocky, I think has to play at least one full year at a high level of performance before we should consider an extension.

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