TD_washingtonredskins Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 DeSean Jackson's boneheaded play on Monday night got me thinking about some of the hired help we've brought in since the NFL changed to a free-agency/salary cap model back in the early- to mid-1990s. I thought it would be fun and somewhat cathartic to list out some of the free agents we've brought in who have either been a bust or made plays that have pissed you off. This can be for a track record of sub-par play in DC or for a singular event or play that annoyed you to no end. Obviously, Jackson hasn't been anything resembling a bust (both due to the relatively modest price and because he's produced quite a few big plays, when healthy). I'll give my 5 in no particular order, with a brief summary of why... Stanley Richard, FS (1995-1998) Coming off a Super Bowl appearance with the Chargers (during which he ran roughly 756 yards trailing 49er receivers), we brought Richard in to shore up our secondary. Objectively, I think The Sheriff was probably pretty average for us. I'm actually a little surprised to see that he played here for 4 full seasons (and was very durable). It might have been because those Norv teams generated no pass rush or always seemed to play so passively, but I honestly cannot remember any of 11 interceptions that he had and only remember him either being burned for touchdowns or coming up to make tackles after very easy completions. Deion Sanders, CB (2000) This was a high-profile acquisition made after our feel-good season of 1999 when we decided to scrap the gelling defense and start over with aging veterans. Along with Sanders, we demoted Kenard Lang (13.0 sacks over the previous two years) for Bruce Smith. I actually believe that these high-profile changes (which also included adding Mark Carrier to the secondary - as an aside, how many games would that guy be suspended in THIS NFL??) worked very well on the field in the short-term. Our defense improved significantly which honestly put us in position to contend for a championship in 2000. It's the offense and kicking game that regressed badly and killed any shot we had. But I digress, the play that really bothered me during Deion's season in DC was somewhat similar to DJax's play on Monday Night. Back for a punt, he was showboating and working the crowd into a tizzy before promptly fielding a punt off his facemask. I don't think we lost the fumble, but it struck me as such a ridiculously self-centered act. He had a decent season (much better than people give him credit for), but I never liked having that Cowboy here. Jeremiah Trotter, LB (2002-2003) Despite seemingly having a decent stable of homegrown LBs in the early-2000s (Shawn Barber, Antonio Pierce, LaVar Arrington) we decided to bring in Trotter and Jessie Armstead from two division rivals to solidify the middle layer of our defense. I can't really quantify or prove that Trotter sucked, but I remember him really never being a factor at all. Armstead seemed to make a few plays here and there, but I hated Trotter. What made it worse was that he went back to the Eagles in 2004 and instantly regained form. In fairness, I'm sure this was our fault and not his, but something still seemed fishy since we had a competent defensive coordinator at the time. Brandon Lloyd, WR (2006-2007) I kind of hated every FA we added between 2005 and 2006, but everything rubbed me the wrong way about Lloyd. He seemed to care very little about football (not something I thought about Randle-El or Archuleta. This guy AVERAGED about 45 catches, 600 yards, and 5 TDs over the previous two years in San Francisco and put up a whopping 25 catches, 380 yards, and 0 TDs in his two years here. I mean, WTF is that???? DeSean Jackson (2014-Present) He's made big plays and he's been a perfectly fine teammate, but it's going to take some time for me to get over that boneheaded and self-centered play from Monday night. It's been beaten to death, but his attempt at being a game-changer changed the game in the wrong way. We went from 1st-and-10 around our 25 with 1:45 to go to trailing by 7 with a minute to go. He stood up and took the blame, but I'm still irritated that it happened (I'm also a little annoyed that he took the blame for fumbling, which was the most excusable aspect of that play, and not for his ridiculous backtracking to our own goal line). He owes me 4 big plays from here on out to make up for that... And yes, I'm leaving out Haynesworth because it's too obvious... Who else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clskinsfan Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Donovan Mcnabb: I hated the trade from the get go and I was right. From the refusal to wear the wrist band. To constantly throwing balls in the dirt. Mcnabb was lazy in practice and it showed on the field. He fought everything the Shanahans tried to do to make him a better QB. He was and still is an arrogant asshole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCoach22 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 We were clueless in the dawn of free agency... Signings like Al Noga come to mind. We later had a knack for signing has-beens... Remember that Carl Banks played here? Alvin Harper too, right? I think Adam Archuletta set more then a few folks over the edge... Then there were guys who played okay, but nobody could take them seriously because the team as a whole was such a mess, like Trung Candidate. Haynesworth is obviously the worst of the worst. For me, Dana Stubblefield and Dan Wilkinson were the ones I would have liked to have tortured a little. We've all seen the image of a turtle moving towards a dangling carrot? I would have liked to have done the same thing to both those guys with the Morton's steak Danny used to bribe them to sign here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justice98 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Wilkinson was actually halfway decent for a couple of those years, if I recall. Not great, but not a total bum either. Probably why he was here as long as he was. The Brandon Lloyd thing I blame on the brass. They took a 45 catch guy and expected double that. To that point, he was known more for highlight catches than actual consistency. Took him another 5 years to do anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMK9973 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Jason Taylor - Mostly because how bad we screwed that up. He was the best right DE in the league in 2006 and 2007. We traded for him and moved HIM to the left side, because we didnt want to move Andre Carter (??). 1 year, below avg, never looked comfortable. Went back to MIA, the Jets and again MIA where he continued to have above avg seasons again.... Adam Archaleta - Not totally his fault. He just wasn't very good. Perfect example of the best and worst of Gibbs. As a player evaluator - Gibbs was not very good. He pushed to bring AA to the skins. But as a coach - Remember his statement "No - Adam is a key memeber of this team. Its not that he was benched from Defense - its that he has a important role of punter protection". Jeff George is a obvious one.. But how about Mark Burnell - I still, to this day, think Patrick Ramsey could have been something special. The guy got rattled like crazy with Spurrier but he had a chance with Gibbs. Until Burnell came around. Ramsey beat him for the starting job in 2005, but one small stinger before the half in game 1, and Gibbs used it to start Mark. Yes -We went 10-6 and made the playoffs - But I always wondered what if..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted December 9, 2015 Author Share Posted December 9, 2015 Wilkinson was actually halfway decent for a couple of those years, if I recall. Not great, but not a total bum either. Probably why he was here as long as he was. The Brandon Lloyd thing I blame on the brass. They took a 45 catch guy and expected double that. To that point, he was known more for highlight catches than actual consistency. Took him another 5 years to do anything. You know, I never disliked Dan Wilkinson either. I'm sure we overpaid, but he came to work and played OK. Stubblefield is a great one though...nice job TheCoach. As for these guys...I'm not necessarily blaming them specifically for anything they did. It's fair to say that our organization is 100% to blame. It's just that during games when I'd see these guys, I hated them with a passion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gortiz Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 you know who I like, but always feel like he's a back stabber? schlereth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMK9973 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 We did have some good one over the years... Santana Moss Marcus Washington Clinton Portis Brad Johnson London Fletcher Man - Its so much harder to come up with that list then the bad ones... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fearlessNelms Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Archuletta is the one I'd like to knock out. Not only was he obviously a horrendous safety, but because of his signing we let Ryan Clark walk in free agency. Clark went on to have a bunch of good years in Pittsburgh and was known as a ferocious hitter around the league. And aside from Clark being a 100X better player than Archuletta, he was Sean Taylor's best friend and I think it really bothered Taylor when we let Clark walk. Archuletta would eventually be relegated to being our punt protector. The other reason why Archuletta is the guy for me is because I actually think I can take him. The other guys you guys are mentioning on here I think might be a bit too much for the 5'10'' 190 lbs. I carry around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justice98 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 you know who I like, but always feel like he's a back stabber? schlereth I don't know about backstabber, but he clearly enjoyed his time in Denver more than in DC. Which is not unreasonable given his career. For an ex-Redskin and part of a great team, you'd like to feel the love a little more for the franchise that gave you your chance and you won a SB with, is all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PortisBetts Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 This team should stay off the free agent market for the next 3 seasons no matter what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mursilis Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 So many names could be added to the list! Here's one that's probably little remembered, for good reason - David Patten (2005-07). We didn't pay him a ton of money (5yrs/$13M), but still overpaid for what we ended up getting (23/242yds over two seasons). And of course when he left, he had a solid season for another team, New Orleans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted December 9, 2015 Author Share Posted December 9, 2015 you know who I like, but always feel like he's a back stabber? schlereth I like this approach too - someone who became a mercenary after we discovered and developed him. A lot of Schlereth's comments through the years have rubbed me the wrong way too. He became a great player, no doubt. But he was a 10th round talent that we took a shot on and he got to spend 5-6 being groomed on a team with a great OL/culture. Without those years who knows if he would have become what he did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo-toni Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Why is the worst of the worst not on here? Dana Stubblefield. And let's not forget "God told me to ask for more money" Sean Gilbert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TMK9973 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 This team should stay off the free agent market for the next 3 seasons no matter what. Naaa...Cause we did much better now. Pot Roast is someone I like. Culliver (When healthy) Blackmon - HUGE, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RVAskins Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Let's not forget Adam Archuleta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjfootballer Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Good thread. For me: Antwaan "DANCING QUEEN" Randle-El. Never saw a guy dance around so much for nothing. He was supposed to be an aggressive return man for us and acted like he never wanted contact. I could have punched him a time or two. Agree with others about Wilkinson. I thought he played hard. I thought Stubblefield half assed it and never really wanted to be here. He wanted to stay in SF. Haynesworth is so obvious, it diesnt even need an explanation from anyone. Just say "fat ass" and we'll all know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted December 9, 2015 Author Share Posted December 9, 2015 Why is the worst of the worst not on here? Dana Stubblefield. And let's not forget "God told me to ask for more money" Sean Gilbert. I can't ever hate how the Sean Gilbert thing went down since we unloaded him for two firsts. This is a personal list, so although I acknowledge how bad Stubby was, I didn't irrationally despise him as much as the people I listed in the OP. Another guy who is probably my most hated Redskin of all-time (and doesn't make any sense) is Matt Stevens. He doesn't really fit this category as he was anything but a "name" brought in as a mercenary to help us. But he sucked at everything yet somehow always ended up lucking into interceptions that (in my view as a 20-year old) kept him on the field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PortisBetts Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Naaa...Cause we did much better now. Pot Roast is someone I like. Culliver (When healthy) Blackmon - HUGE, Blackmon was great. Pot Roast is ok. Culliver, I dont know about. He has been hurt, so I will hold out judgement until next season. I know its dramatic. I dont really think we should totally stay out of it, but we need to be much more focused on building through the draft than we have previous seasons. Its been said ad nauseum(sp?) though, so Ill just shut up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TD_washingtonredskins Posted December 9, 2015 Author Share Posted December 9, 2015 Blackmon was great. Pot Roast is ok. Culliver, I dont know about. He has been hurt, so I will hold out judgement until next season. I know its dramatic. I dont really think we should totally stay out of it, but we need to be much more focused on building through the draft than we have previous seasons. Its been said ad nauseum(sp?) though, so Ill just shut up. Also, for the record, I don't consider someone like Blackmon a true FA signing. He was someone we got in the secondary (if that) market to fill a need during the season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justice98 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 I like this approach too - someone who became a mercenary after we discovered and developed him. A lot of Schlereth's comments through the years have rubbed me the wrong way too. He became a great player, no doubt. But he was a 10th round talent that we took a shot on and he got to spend 5-6 being groomed on a team with a great OL/culture. Without those years who knows if he would have become what he did. We basically kicked him to the curb though. I wouldn't really consider that a mercenary situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBass1724 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Michael Barrow. Dude didn't even play a down for us. Jesse Armstead, Jeremiah Trotter, Randle-El, Jeff George, and Bruce Smith. My most hated Redskin of all-time is Kelly Goodburn. Every player I listed deserves a punch in the face just because I don't like them. Shoot, I just thought of another. Andre Roberts tops my list now. Most. Punchable. Face. Ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gortiz Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Michael Barrow. Dude didn't even play a down for us. Jesse Armstead, Jeremiah Trotter, Randle-El, Jeff George, and Bruce Smith. My most hated Redskin of all-time is Kelly Goodburn. Every player I listed deserves a punch in the face just because I don't like them. Shoot, I just thought of another. Andre Roberts tops my list now. Most. Punchable. Face. Ever. damn, you are digging deep!! Where does Stephen Davis fall? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaper Skins Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Who was that awful running back we traded like a 2nd and third rounder for? Dockett? Duckett? Also Mike Williams. Nice guy but if you're relying on someone losing 100 pounds to be a starter on your team you seriously need to reevaluate your scouting strategies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhead36 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 This thread should be copy pasted everytime someone suggests we go crazy in FA. Free Agency is a bigger crapshoot than the draft and more expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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