A fundamental problem: We don't understand what kind of bad owner Snyder is

[Skinsinparadise]

I think that's what he was referring to. 

 

From what I heard, there was a quick 20 minute or so meeting with Dan, Bruce, Mike and maybe one or two more cats and the tension was fairly thick.

 

But figuratively, Dan would've gone in with Shanny.  And that might not have been a bad fight.

 

Am not a big Dan guy but as much as JLC despised him I doubt he'd give him a positive spin.  And according to JLC, Shanny ironically was given everything he wanted and Danny got out of his way -- and accordingly to other media Danny and Shanny got along well.   Yeah I don't blame Danny or anyone else for getting mad at Shanny for throwing everyone under the bus at the end of the season. Danny is often unclassy but in that case IMO it was Shanny who showed no class and that's when he lost me (I used to be a big Shanny guy)

 

Back to Danny, I think the team can do fine with an abrasive owner with poor people skills, there are other examples of just that, Although I hear he can be very charming when he wants to be, the people that love Danny really dig him like Joe Gibbs to this day.  I don't think this team or any other for that matter can do well without procuring top talent in both FA and the draft.  I love Gibbs but who would hire him to run personnel?  Cerrato was a joke.   People would hire Shanny to run their offense but not personnel.   Bruce Allen was out of a job and not considered a top personnel guy.   Scott Campbell has been here it seems forever. 

 

Like I said its like running a restaurant and instead of hiring a top chef which is the easy and true and tried way and instead you try everything else.  How about a top notch waiter who dabbles in food.    How about someone who was fired by another restaurant but is very likable and talks a good game. On and on.  The wholething seems hopeless on its surface but the bottom line is the dude hasn't tried or being willing to try the most fundamental way to build a team

[Isifhan]

 

But when it comes to everything else; stadium experience, scouts, team facility, etc... he's either been behind the curve or just simply cheap. Period. How many times did we hear reports about how the players think our facilities are a joke compared to other NFL team facilities? How long did it take for a bubble to be built? How long before we renovated the gym, and it's still not considered up to par? How long did we hear excuses about the small video board at the stadium being incredibly difficult to upgrade because of complicated old school wiring? Then, suddenly it gets done. We have a winning season in 2012 where we get a home playoff game and the grass is in bad shape causing public scrutiny, and then he does something about it. Why aren't we ever ahead of these things? Why isn't one of the most profitable franchises in sports paving the way instead of lagging behind? 

 

 

This is what I don't get though. It would cost what?  A million bucks to upgrade the scouting staff?  I mean hire 10 scouts at 100k a piece there you go.  At some point more scouts will become repetitive but you get the idea, it would be pennies on the dollar, nothing to him to make this simple upgrade, or have Bruce suggest it and make it happen.  But we're constantly willing to pay a Haynesworth to go away, pay Shanahan and his staff to go away, all of this money flushed down the toilet but when it comes to something that matters we can't spend a million bucks?  He'd have that in petty cash.  

 

Am I not understanding something? Is there a difference where revenue is allocated in terms of he can more easily spend on stupid contracts and such where it's easier money to replace then if he were to spend it on the front office?  It's all just one pot of money right?  It just boggles my mind.  I mean cheap sure he doesn't want to spend tens of millions upgrading the stadium experience...ok I guess. But this would cost nothing to upgrade.  

 

Only thing I can see is what thesubmittedone stated, he's still playing fantasy owner and doesn't want to let anyone have input outside his circle of trust.  If that's the case, it's simply not going to change as long as he's the owner, unless something happens to make him have a complete 180 in how he views his role.  

[Corcaigh]

The Redskins organization is cheap in areas where it matters, and extravagant in other areas where it hopes it can buy instant success.

Don't bother with a fullly funded and robust scouting department when an executive jet can fly around the country to help you win bidding wars for over-priced free agents.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

[Going Commando]

Our problems aren't as simple as poor drafting. That would be nice in comparison. Our problems are structural. We're a dysfunctional organization.

You can draft good prospects and they will still fail if the organization is dysfunctional because you'll be burning through coaches like we have. Players in development get lost in regime changes.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Am not a big Dan guy but as much as JLC despised him I doubt he'd give him a positive spin.  And according to JLC, Shanny ironically was given everything he wanted and Danny got out of his way -- and accordingly to other media Danny and Shanny got along well.   Yeah I don't blame Danny or anyone else for getting mad at Shanny for throwing everyone under the bus at the end of the season. Danny is often unclassy but in that case IMO it was Shanny who showed no class and that's when he lost me (I used to be a big Shanny guy)

 

Giving a coach whatever he wants is an awful, awful plan. A true football GM (ideally rolling up to Bruce Allen or a Bruce Allen type) should be the one who runs the football operations. And he should span multiple coaches. That way you don't end up with an Island of Misfit Toys roster that has sprinkles of 3-4 different coaches. 

[Metskins]

The way I see it, Snyder isn't dropping INT's in critical situations. He's not throwing multiple picks in the 4th quarter. He's not failing to sustain blocks, or maintain coverage assignments.

 

This team has had horrible injury luck this year, but if you want to blame somebody, I'd suggest pointing the finger at the coaches and players. Or Bruce Allen, who assembled the roster.

 

This is always the line I hear when people disagree with the 'Snyder is the Problem' argument.  The fact that he's not the one on the field.  

 

Problem is - the players have changed, the coaches have changed, a FEW front office people have changed, but the team is still terrible.

 

The guy is driven more by a desire to be liked and be in the decision making process at SOME level than he is to win.  These wild, over-corrections every year have been a consistent trademark in his regime. One area gets patched and over patched, meanwhile some other position gets exposed as having virtually no talent.  High risk trades are made, huge piles of FA cash are spent and the results stay the same.

 

Last point - at the end of the Shanahan regime, this owner had probably the most capital he's ever had within the NFL as far as getting a real General Manager/Personnel guy to come in here and fix what was broken.  Instead, he elected to hire a politician and VP type who's good at organizing homecoming events.  Who in this organization knows how to build a roster?  Why are we seemingly always one of the worst five teams in the NFL when it comes to this?  Dan Snyder is a plague on this franchise.

[SkinsHokieFan]

The Redskins organization is cheap in areas where it matters, and extravagant in other areas where it hopes it can buy instant success.

Don't bother with a fullly funded and robust scouting department when an executive jet can fly around the country to help you win bidding wars for over-priced free agents.

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

 

It is truly baffling to me.

 

Years ago I put out a mock org chart of a very robust scouting/analytics department that no team in the NFL could rival.

 

The total cost of it, based on average salaries of scouts I found online, plus fringe and OH for these guys would have been 1/8 the cost of Albert Haynesworth's guaranteed money

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Awful. Says everything that needs to be said. I don't buy the whole "Snyder is willing to spend" crap anymore. He's no different than any other owner in the league in terms of salary cap, he was just willing to give more ridiculous long-term contracts than others and earned that reputation falsely. MAYBE he is better about paying head coaches more than others and I guess we do use our entire salary cap every year. But that's it. Big deal.  

 

But when it comes to everything else; stadium experience, scouts, team facility, etc... he's either been behind the curve or just simply cheap. Period. How many times did we hear reports about how the players think our facilities are a joke compared to other NFL team facilities? How long did it take for a bubble to be built? How long before we renovated the gym, and it's still not considered up to par? How long did we hear excuses about the small video board at the stadium being incredibly difficult to upgrade because of complicated old school wiring?

 

Snyder strikes me as someone who spends a fortune on the living room furniture while never repairing the leaking room or substandard wiring in his house. He will spend money in ostentatious ways while letting other, more fundamental things go.

 

I know people are hung up on "The Bubble," but I always come back to Shanahan making him upgrade the cafeteria. You would think that would be an easy (and fun!) place to spend stupid money, but most of the general public is probably unaware that football facilities even have cafeterias. So Snyder skimps on it.

Our problems aren't as simple as poor drafting. That would be nice in comparison. Our problems are structural. We're a dysfunctional organization.

You can draft good prospects and they will still fail if the organization is dysfunctional because you'll be burning through coaches like we have. Players in development get lost in regime changes.

 

Case in point: The Bengals. The Bengals are still the same cheap dysfunctional organization they have always been. They've just gotten very lucky in a few drafts while the Steelers and Ravens have gotten old. They are probably going to make the playoffs a few times, and then the organizational rot will bring them back down.

 

Just through dumb luck, the Skins are going to have a great draft someday. That won't mean that what ails this organization is fixed. Joe Gibbs was able to cover up a lot of sins with wild spending in free agency and his own work ethic/skils. But he ultimately left the organization in a worst place, I think.

It wasn't a communications company. It was basically a company that put signs up in doctor's offices

 

And over the johns in public restrooms.

[pjfootballer]

If we're gonna blame anyone, we should be blaming us, the fans. Stop buying tickets, stop buying jerseys, stop going to games etc until this **** turns around. As long as we keep forking over money for a ****ty product, we're gonna keep getting a ****ty product. Yeah, Dan is a fan, but he's a business man first. Hit him where it hurts, and i guarantee you'll see a difference.

But the moment you do that, you get labeled a quitter or fair weather fan by other fans.

[Bantu]

Snyder strikes me as someone who spends a fortune on the living room furniture while never repairing the leaking room or substandard wiring in his house. He will spend money in ostentatious ways while letting other, more fundamental things go.

I know people are hung up on "The Bubble," but I always come back to Shanahan making him upgrade the cafeteria. You would think that would be an easy (and fun!) place to spend stupid money, but most of the general public is probably unaware that football facilities even have cafeterias. So Snyder skimps on it.

Case in point: The Bengals. The Bengals are still the same cheap dysfunctional organization they have always been. They've just gotten very lucky in a few drafts while the Steelers and Ravens have gotten old. They are probably going to make the playoffs a few times, and then the organizational rot will bring them back down.

Just through dumb luck, the Skins are going to have a great draft someday. That won't mean that what ails this organization is fixed. Joe Gibbs was able to cover up a lot of sins with wild spending in free agency and his own work ethic/skils. But he ultimately left the organization in a worst place, I think.

And over the johns in public restrooms.

Since when has the Bengals organization been dysfunctional? Ownership is super stingy when it comes to player contracts, but that's about all I've heard or seen. The owner is a jerk, IMO, but they seem to understand light years better than Snyder how to run a football operation.

[Corcaigh]

I know people are hung up on "The Bubble," but I always come back to Shanahan making him upgrade the cafeteria. You would think that would be an easy (and fun!) place to spend stupid money, but most of the general public is probably unaware that football facilities even have cafeterias. So Snyder skimps on it.

 

 

The cafeteria has been upgraded to the level of the breakfast area at a Courtyard Marriott. God only knows what it was like before.

The bubble is like half a dozen other community facilities in the area.

The weight room would be upscale for a local high school, but is well below top D I football programs.

 

How do I know this? I was at an 'executive networking event' at Redskins Park recently hosted by one of their sponsors. As we toured the building several guys in Redskins polos with the demeanor of prison guards followed us around. I can only assume that they thought we were going to steal something. 

[Birdlives]

If we're gonna blame anyone, we should be blaming us, the fans. Stop buying tickets, stop buying jerseys, stop going to games etc until this **** turns around. As long as we keep forking over money for a ****ty product, we're gonna keep getting a ****ty product. Yeah, Dan is a fan, but he's a business man first. Hit him where it hurts, and i guarantee you'll see a difference.

 

Money from the fans doesn't matter anyomore. The NFL gets so much money from their television deals that even the most incompetent franchises make money. The voice of the fan died out once that happened.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

 

How do I know this? I was at an 'executive networking event' at Redskins Park recently hosted by one of their sponsors. As we toured the building several guys in Redskins polos with the demeanor of prison guards followed us around. I can only assume that they thought we were going to steal something. 

 

They heard your accent and probably thought you were looking for booze. Can't blame them. It's the curse of you people.

[Corcaigh]

They heard your accent and probably thought you were looking for booze. Can't blame them. It's the curse of you people.

 

I brought my own in a flask. Otherwise, how could you get through a briefing from Larry Michael.

[Birdlives]

The cafeteria has been upgraded to the level of the breakfast area at a Courtyard Marriott. God only knows what it was like before.

The bubble is like half a dozen other community facilities in the area.

The weight room would be upscale for a local high school, but is well below top D I football programs.

 

How do I know this? I was at an 'executive networking event' at Redskins Park recently hosted by one of their sponsors. As we toured the building several guys in Redskins polos with the demeanor of prison guards followed us around. I can only assume that they thought we were going to steal something. 

 

It's an indictment on Snyder, it really is. The myth that Dan just wants to win is BS. If he wanted to win, he'd stop lining his pockets and put money into the franchise, instead, he sells skunked beer, refuses to upgrade facilities, provides a terrible field, and buys himself a nice yacht.

[martytheman]

Here's the problem as I see it:

 

The perceptions that Snyder "spends money" are skewed.. with the salary cap there is a floor and a ceiling that he HAS to spend whether he likes it or not.

 

Its pretty obvious to me that old danny boy treats this "business" like he would any other: as a vehicle to make money. Nothing more, nothing less.

This is evidenced by the sale of skunky beer from the WC, refusal to spend on upgrades like practice facility/weight room

lack of personnel in the scouting/front office departments, etc.

 

This franchise is worth 1.6 BILLION dollars.

There is no reason we should not have a top team of scouts, front office guys, cap guys, etc.

There is no reason we should have a ****ty gym, stadium and practice facility.

There is no reason we should NOT have a top notch group of trainers/health specialists.

 

All those people would cost what, a million a year? Which would easily be offset by the filled seats/spending from a fanbase with some hope.

 

Snyder is just too cheap to spend the money where he really needs to.. he's like Scrooge McDuck with an R on his shirt.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

I brought my own in a flask. Otherwise, how could you get through a briefing from Larry Michael.

 

Seriously, what the hell was this event?

[Corcaigh]

Seriously, what the hell was this event?

 

[Duckus]

I couldn't agree more.

 

The biggest misconception about Snyder by many fans is that he is some sort of business maven who built an empire.

 

The dude is a con artist who rode a tech bubble. Nothing in his past leads me to believe he has the intelligence or ability to run a large business. I think he knows it too and why he has such thin skin and overly reactive of criticisms. He is terrified of people realizing he has not idea what he is doing on a daily basis.

[Sacks 'n' Stuff]

He's not on the field is maybe the new worst defense of Snyder. If not inserting yourself into the lineup is the only criteria, every owner in professional sports qualifies as good.

[planter]

I still fail to see how that was a bad move for the organisation.

Hail.

It led to media revelations that the full Navajo Tribal Council voted 9-2 against the name "Redskins". Hope I remembered that correctly :-)

[Rodriggo]

I'm not trying to **** on anybody that loves FedEx and going to games there but when I went to RG3's first home game during the 2012 preseason I was struck at how much of a dump it was. How unremarkable, and unkept it looked.

 

I remember catching a glimpse of the Seahawks walking out to the field pregame this year and seeing whole swaths of chipped paint in the tunnel....pretty small time for one of the most valuable franchise IN THE WORLD.

 

Is there a photo essay anywhere online on the decrepitness of FedEx field? If not, there should be.

 

It's a reflection on Snyder. He didn't have to spend a dime to build it and won't to keep it looking nice.

[StephenDavis]

How can you not understand what kind of bad owner Snyder is? That's the question. There is no way not to realize it. He's the worst owner in all of sports. I'd take disillusioned Al Davis at the end of his ownership at this point. It can't be any worse. 

[Bantu]

It baffles me that there are Snyder apologists that number even in the double digits on this board.

I've fallen for Snyder's magic show one too many times. From now on, 3 winning seasons in a row will be the minimum standard I will use to change my mind on him.

[Slateman]

I think most Redskin fans understand how bad an owner Snyder is. What they fail at is doing what is needed in order to have him removed. Stop supporting the team. Stop buying gear. Stop going to games. Stop watching on TV. When Snyder fails to make a profit, he will leave or the NFL will step in.