Redskin Mercenaries I've Wanted to Punch (1993-Present)

[Fergasun]

I'm using a somewhat different methodology.  Any free agents that contributed to a playoff team - they shouldn't be on this list.  If all you did was get signed by the Redskins, not produce, and played on one of the forgettable losing teams --- you are list worthy.


1993 - Tim McGee (WR), Carl Banks (LB)
I only remember them because I played the heck out of Front Page Sports: Football, Pro Edition on the PC.  Not really true because I also remember watching them do nothing on Sunday's that year.

1994 - Tony Woods (DE), Martin Bayless (SS), John Gesek ©
The Redskins must have been awful that year, because I don't remember this team at all.  Apparently John Gesek was the starter at C across two (2) seasons?  

1995 - Rod Stephens (MLB), James Washington (SS), Stanley Richard (FS)
Man - let the sucky defenses commence... of these 3 signings I hate "The Sheriff" the most - a no coverage, arm-tackling fool.  

1996 - Jeff Uhlenhake ©, Sean Gilbert (DT)
Sean Gilbert we all know about.  Jeff Uhlenhake, maybe not a bad player but he makes my filter.  Apparently he is the strength coach at Ohio State.  Many of these OL players we signed were past their prime and we got them at the very end.


1997 - Chris Mims (DE/DT), Jesse Campbell (SS)
Unfortnately Chris Mims died at the young age of 38 due to an enlarged heart. Jesse Campbell - some of you all may have forgotten about him too.   

1998 - Rod Milstead (G)
Nothing really bad about Milstead, except he was an unspectacular starter for a season.  Dan Wilkinson would fit here, but he did have a great 1999 on the playoff team.  

1999 - Sam Shade (SS)
I can't resist it, I always hated this guy.  An article I googled called him a "tackling machine" - yes when the 7 in front of you are putrid you will be a tackling machine... also letting lots of passes be completed on you leads to the same moniker.  

2000 - Mark Carrier (FS), Jay Leeuwenburg (G), Bruce Smith (DE)   
Mark Carrier he was suspended so many tims I thought he must've played for the Redskins multiple seasons... really, one one year?  

2001 - Tony Banks (QB), Donnell Bennett (FB), Dave Szott (G), Ben Coleman (G), Walter Rasby (TE)
Lots of "misses" here in free agency.  

2002 - Jessie Armstead (LB), Jeremiah Trotter (MLB)
Division rival castoff linebackers did not improve the Redskins defense.  

2003 - Trung Candidate (RB), Lonnie Friedman (G), Regan Upshaw (DE), Lional Dalton (DT), Matt Bowen (FS)
More, more, more busts!  Only Matt Bowen really peaks my ire on this team, but the others had unspectacular stints in DC.  

2004 - None!
2005 - None!

2006 - Brandon Lloyd (WR), Andre Carter (DE)
2007 - Jason Fabini (G), Todd Wade (T)

Too tired to continue on...too depressing...

[MartinC]

Deion Sanders for me. Hated that we signed that idiot and hated him playing for the Redskins. I have never and will never consider him a Redskin.

[Riggo-toni]

Dave Szott actually played pretty well in 2001, as did Rasby. The problem with Rasby is we brought him back in 2004 and by then he was washed up. The other Schothead free agents were awful...so awful. But Schotferbrains wanted his sycophantic "Five-0" guys in the locker room.

[clskinsfan]

Maybe I'm biased, but I firmly believe the best FA in Redskins history was its first -John Riggins!

 

Loved me some Wilber..loved...but my favorite free agent in Skins history was Riggins

 

I must admit my error. You are both correct of course!

[TMK9973]

I actually don't mind Tony Banks. We signed him halfway thru the preseason and after we cut Jeff George he came in.  Ended up playing pretty well that year (I mean -he was 8-6 as a starter - but he took over a team that was a mess.  Remember - he ended that season on a 8-3 run..).

We didnt pay much for him, didnt trade for him, just plugged him in and he did ok.

[hail2skins]

I actually don't mind Tony Banks. We signed him halfway thru the preseason and after we cut Jeff George he came in. Ended up playing pretty well that year (I mean -he was 8-6 as a starter - but he took over a team that was a mess. Remember - he ended that season on a 8-3 run..).

We didnt pay much for him, didnt trade for him, just plugged him in and he did ok.

.

You have to credit Kent Graham with two of the Banks wins, as he came in and led a couple of come from behind victories.

[SkinsFTW]

Riggs was our short yardage guy in 91

The reason I compare him to Duckett is because we gave up way too much for a short yardage guy.

They traded a 3rd for Byner the same time frame but Riggs was traded for a 1st and 2nd.

[carex]

The reason I compare him to Duckett is because we gave up way too much for a short yardage guy.

They traded a 3rd for Byner the same time frame but Riggs was traded for a 1st and 2nd.

 

well he wasn't expected to be a short yardage guy.  I just look at it as Byner was better

[DC9]

Jeff George and Deion Sanders.

 

I hated those two signings more than anything.

 

I was actually excited for McNabb initially, but that excitement mellowed pretty quickly.

 

DJax was extremely selfish on MNF... and I haven't been able to bring myself back to the stadium until this morning because of it, but it's important for him and the team to learn the lesson and proverbially burn the tape. 

 

If we do end up missing the division by one game, I take a very hard look at that play if I'm Scot, come January.

[kleese]

Jeff George and Deion Sanders.

I hated those two signings more than anything.

I was actually excited for McNabb initially, but that excitement mellowed pretty quickly.

DJax was extremely selfish on MNF... and I haven't been able to bring myself back to the stadium until this morning because of it, but it's important for him and the team to learn the lesson and proverbially burn the tape.

If we do end up missing the division by one game, I take a very hard look at that play if I'm Scot, come January.

Biggest mistake Norv made was NOT starting George over Brad Johnson earlier that year: George was the superior player, especially in thst offense. If he starts the season, we make the playoffs. Johnson was awful,

[Stefanskins]

Biggest mistake Norv made was NOT starting George over Brad Johnson earlier that year: George was the superior player, especially in thst offense. If he starts the season, we make the playoffs. Johnson was awful,

I don't agree there...yes jeff was the prototypical looking qb...and at times could put up gaudy numbers but he was inconsistent, a turnover machine, a cancer in the locker room and an all around ass...did jeff george ever have a winning season?...Brad went on to win a super bowl..

[DC9]

Biggest mistake Norv made was NOT starting George over Brad Johnson earlier that year: George was the superior player, especially in thst offense. If he starts the season, we make the playoffs. Johnson was awful,

 

Difficult to bench a player, who the year before, got you within a breath of the NFC Championship game.

 

In my opinion Johnson's play suffered because of the presence of George, who was brought in and made more money than him straight away.

 

This was the first year of Snyder having a "touch" on the team, though... and it was so Snyder.  The "Fortune .500 Redskins".

 

Still could've been a dangerous team if we had a kicker that year.  That's about the only thing I agree with Lavar Arrington, about.

[hail2skins]

Losing Mike Westbrook in Game 2 in 2000 was the biggest impact of that season.

[50yrSKINSfan]

Biggest mistake Norv made was NOT starting George over Brad Johnson earlier that year: George was the superior player, especially in thst offense. If he starts the season, we make the playoffs. Johnson was awful,

I don't agree either. JG had a better arm but made too many mistakes. He just wanted to show off his arm and didn't seem to care. BJ was a true field general. He took what the D gave. 

Does James Trash count. I mean I do not hate the guy and he is prob a great guy but if I remember he never did anything here. I always thought he had more talent than he showed.

[kleese]

I don't agree either. JG had a better arm but made too many mistakes. He just wanted to show off his arm and didn't seem to care. BJ was a true field general. He took what the D gave.

Does James Trash count. I mean I do not hate the guy and he is prob a great guy but if I remember he never did anything here. I always thought he had more talent than he showed.

Brad Johnson was, and remains, the most overrated Redskin among the fanbase in my lifetime watching the Redskins. He got off to a white hot start-- he was fantastic in our first four or five game of 1999. Then, he slowly began to tail off. By the end of that season I considered him a neutral, by the playoffs, he was a negative.

He cost us that Tampa playoff game and he gets NO heat for it. Our defense was great that day until they choked a bit at the end. Special teams was also good, scoring our only TD.

Johnson made one of the worst plays in Redskins history that no one ever talks about-- up 10-0 late in the third, we had all the momentum and the Bucs looked dead. First and ten BJ lofts a terrible pass that is picked off down the sideline by Lynch. Totally swings the momentum of that game and gives their offense some life they hadn't had.

For a guy that was considered "smart" and didn't lose the game for you, it was a horrendous decision on a day where he already wasn't making any plays. Yes, the Bucs D was fantastic, but BJ made them look even better. An average performance from him that day and we win fairly easily. He stunk.

In 2000, he was terrible. If he couldn't handle George being on the roster than I guess he wasn't mentally tough enough anyway. Someone mentioned Westbrook getting hurt-- that was a big moment that season for sure-- but in that game, BJ also threw four picks. He wasn't much better the other games he played.

Our FA signings in 2000 worked out, including Deion. We went from 30th in D in 1999 to 4th in 2000. Deion was solid. Not worth the money, but a a solid player that year. Bruce Smith was good. Problem was our offense--- except when George started. Our best game that year was a win in St. Louis he started for an injured BJ and our offense was better that night than the rest of the year.

Norv didn't have the stones to let him keep the job; BJ came back and was God awful in that finale fateful Giants game. We finally scored and started moving the ball once Norv benched him for George, but it was too late by then and we missed the field goal to win it-- but George brought us back. After that the entire season unraveled. George starts earlier, we win 2-3 more games that year and win the division.

BJ winning the SB was just chance. He just happened to be there. The 2002 version of BJ probably wasn't any better than the 2015 version of Kirk Cousins. It was a down period in the league where guys like Dilfer, BJ, and Kerry Collins were SB QB's. Throw Jake Dellhome in there as well. Early 2000's were a soft period in the league with subpar QB play and a couple of teams took advantage and won with great defense and a virtual mannequin at QB.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

To add a bit of context to kleese's post, George outperformed Johnson when he got a shot in 2000. It wasn't by a long shot, but we also didn't need much more to win most of those games. We were 6-2 MOSTLY due to our defense that year (Johnson had a couple big games against the Giants and Jags, if I recall). But down the stretch we lost some very tight games (16-15, 23-20, 9-7) where one more big play or key drive would have been critical. 

 

Obviously the two games after Turner was fired were awful, but you have to imagine we'd have played better if he had retained his job. So, I kind of agree that George would have been the difference that year but I'm not sure you could have made the move before the season started. You are also right about Johnson being overrated in 1999. Right around November the offense slowed down and we actually won our key games that year on the strength of our D (beat the Giants and Eagles in back-to-back weeks giving up only 30 points total) and Stephen Davis. 

 

My only hangup with George being the guy in 2000 is that it wouldn't have been sustainable (not that Johnson turned out to be anyway). The guy was an asshole and he probably would have become disinterested the second a game went in the wrong direction that post-season or in 2001. 

 

The game that still stands out from 2000 was that Rams game. We went in there and Jeff George was nearly perfect. At the time, it stopped a 2-game losing streak, increased our record to 7-4 and seemingly put us back on track to contend (with 3 straight division games coming up). 

[hail2skins]

Our FA signings in 2000 worked out, including Deion. We went from 30th in D in 1999 to 4th in 2000. Deion was solid. Not worth the money, but a a solid player that year. Bruce Smith was good. Problem was our offense--- except when George started. Our best game that year was a win in St. Louis he started for an injured BJ and our offense was better that night than the rest of the year.

Norv didn't have the stones to let him keep the job; BJ came back and was God awful in that finale fateful Giants game. We finally scored and started moving the ball once Norv benched him for George, but it was too late by then and we missed the field goal to win it-- but George brought us back. After that the entire season unraveled. George starts earlier, we win 2-3 more games that year and win the division.

 

Tough to argue Ed, but the tricky part would've been when to pull the plug on Brad.  The 2000 season was ES's first and there was a lot of debate here at some point on why we weren't pulling the plug on Johnson and starting George.  But after a rough start, we did start 6-2 that year......like you said, mainly on the backs of the defense. The last game of that five-game streak was a convincing win over the Jags in which Brad looked solid.  Then we lose to a good Titans team here which features them getting two non-offense TDs in the first half, including a INT return at the end of the half where nobody bothers to tackle Samari Rolle.  Then George gets the start against the Cards, and we lose in a game which features Davis fumbling into the end zone and AZ taking it the other way, and Kris Heppner taking it the other way, then the win against the Rams but Davis gets hurt and misses the next game, a loss against the Eagles here which features a sequence where the Skins have six downs inside the Philly 3 and can't score, and Eddie Murray can't hit a FG to tie at the end. And you've picked it up from there...............

 

Enough Norv memories for you?  Because you're going through the same thing this season and perhaps next one as well, boss

 

Given how highly touted the 2000 Skins were, George was available and had been solid the previous season with the Vikes, so picking him up wasn't a bad idea.  Has it ever been ascertained if Brad was really injured in the Tennessee game, or was the pressure put on from up high to start Jeff after that game?  Snyder was such a tool back then, and continued to be for too long........I'm glad he finally realized the importance of having a bona-fide GM before this season. 

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Enough Norv memories for you?  Because you're going through the same thing this season and perhaps next one as well, boss

 

Given how highly touted the 2000 Skins were, George was available and had been solid the previous season with the Vikes, so picking him up wasn't a bad idea.  Has it ever been ascertained if Brad was really injured in the Tennessee game, or was the pressure put on from up high to start Jeff after that game?  Snyder was such a tool back then, and continued to be for too long........I'm glad he finally realized the importance of having a bona-fide GM before this season. 

 

You said much more concisely what I was trying to say. I think George would have won us more games in 2000, but there really was never a natural time to pull the plug. I know it's coach-talk, but it's tough to bench a QB when you're in the middle of a 5-game winning streak (to go from 1-2 to 6-2). 

 

It's funny - I remember the Norv era (oddly in a strangely kind of fond way) pretty well. The Gibbs era was during my coming-of-age years, but I was pretty invested in the mid- to late-1990s teams and assumed we would just eventually be good again. It truly is amazing how many strange plays kept us from being a 10+ win team in 2000. 

 

We lost to the Cowboys and Titans by the exact same score on MNF - and had a very good shot in both games. We had chances in our first loss (at Detroit). The Arizona game you mentioned was nearly as frustrating as this past MNF game! Then, we played the "class" of our division very tight in back to back weeks only to come up 3 and 2 points short (leaving points on the field all game long). 

 

I'm sure we lose to Pittsburgh no matter what, but I'd have loved to see us go down to Dallas with Norv leading the team. I was so pissed about that year that emotionally I was OK with the firing at 7-6 (I was also 23). In hindsight, what a ridiculous reaction by our owner. 

[hail2skins]

 

 

I'm sure we lose to Pittsburgh no matter what, but I'd have loved to see us go down to Dallas with Norv leading the team. I was so pissed about that year that emotionally I was OK with the firing at 7-6 (I was also 23). In hindsight, what a ridiculous reaction by our owner. 

Yeah, it would've been interesting.  As it turned out, 10-6 was required to make the playoffs in the NFC that year, and we did beat both Tampa and St Louis (the WC teams that finished 10-6) that season. Given Norv's track record in late-season games, running the table after losing the Giants game was doubtful, but you never know.

 

Firing Norv after the season would've been more than justifiable, and even at 7-6 was somewhat understandable, but the way Snyder did it.........ordering Norv to wait for him in the locker room and then never showing up.......just pathetic. Our owner is such a petulant child (although he has admitted that he was in the wrong, and hopefully has apologized to Norv).

 

Someday, someone is going to have to write a book about the Redskins goings-on during the Snyder-Cerrato regime.  Would've loved to have been a fly on the wall as the brass was trying to decide who was going to coach this train wreck the last three games.  Ray Rhodes reportedly wanted nothing to do with it.  Pepper Rodgers?  Guess Robiskie (or Robinskie, to Deion) finally agreed to do it.

 

That Dallas game was so embarrassing and showed the team had quit.  I didn't even bother to watch the Steelers game (the one where reportedly someone was sent to complain to Steelers announcer Myron Cope about his calling us the "Red Faces": Cope's response was that Snyder could "stick his head in a can of paint").  Don't know how they recovered to beat the Cardinals.

 

Back to Jeff George.......perhaps the bigger shame was that him and Marty couldn't work it out.  We were dreadful offensively the first two games of '01, but really didn't get much better after Jeff was released. That's a season that could've possibly resulted in a playoff berth if there had been better QB play down the stretch.

[Riggo-toni]

Biggest mistake Norv made was NOT starting George over Brad Johnson earlier that year: George was the superior player, especially in thst offense. If he starts the season, we make the playoffs. Johnson was awful,

True. BJ's stats in 99 had been vastly.inflated because most of the reams we played the first half had injured secondaries. Deion was out for the Dallas game and both the starting CBs were out for the Giants game. In 2000, he wore out pretty quickly, and was playing awfully when he came back from injury. Personally I wish we had signed Cunningham instead of George though.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Yeah, it would've been interesting.  As it turned out, 10-6 was required to make the playoffs in the NFC that year, and we did beat both Tampa and St Louis (the WC teams that finished 10-6) that season. Given Norv's track record in late-season games, running the table after losing the Giants game was doubtful, but you never know.

 

I agree that we weren't running the table. I was more wondering how the season would have unfolded had we won one of those toss-up games (Arizona, Philly, New York) that we lost due to odd mistakes and not having a reliable kicker. If we were 8-5 entering the final 3 (and still had Turner), I think we possibly beat Dallas and Arizona (who we beat with a team that had already quit) to slide into the playoffs. 

 

Either way, the Norv years fascinate me. I can't even understand what it feels like to have a coach for 7 years now! The early years were very encouraging, the middle years were pretty frustrating, and the final couple years were confusing. 1994 and 1995 looked like your typical NFL rebuild. We doubled our win total and there was no reason to think we weren't climbing back. We weren't far enough removed from having sustained success to even be skeptical. 1996 and 1997 were both frustrating and encouraging as we showed we had taken another step but just couldn't close a bunch of close games. 

 

We bottomed out in 1998 but I think we learned something about the team under Turner...after an 0-7 start we became a pretty solid team in the second half of the season. Much of that team was the foundation for the very decent 1999 team (I'm under the impression that Green on that team would have had very similar success and set us up much more long-term). Then, we went full Fantasy Football in 2000 which kind of worked. But the lack of health, sustained offense, and reliable kicking killed any shot we had. 

 

I think a book about the Norv years alone would be interesting. I'd love to write it but am not any good at writing!

[hail2skins]

 

 

I think a book about the Norv years alone would be interesting. I'd love to write it but am not any good at writing!

Ed Kleese is already working on the definitive Norv chronicles

 

After the ugly 1993 sesaon, a cold bucket of water after the years of glory, I can't even remember what my expectations were with Norv.  I look at the games played in his first few seasons and can't remember even watching a lot of them.  I remember the quick start in 1996 and going to the game at Philly which pushed us to 8-3 and then also attending the following week against the 49ers at RFK, I was sitting down low in one of the end zones, and at one point we went ahead in the 4th and on the ensuing kickoff to SF the ball came loose and that stadium exploded.......I don't think I've heard that level of noise at FedEx. Unfortunately, the Niners recovered, went on to win, and the Skins dropped the next three on the road to miss the playoffs (thanks Romeo Bandison!).

 

The next year was the new stadium and I started going to a lot more games (and still do).  You do wonder why, after the poor ending to 1996 and the frustrating 1997, Norv wasn't fired in the midst of the 0-7 start in 1998.  Was John Kent Cooke too loyal, did the good end to that season save Norv, or a combo of the two? You would think most owners wouldn't have had the patience, but then you look at coaches like Jeff Fisher and Marvin Lewis who have been able to survive significant stretches of mediocrity in Tennessee and Cincinnati, so its possible.

 

Norv was not a good head coach but came here at a time when he was going to compared to the legendary Joe Gibbs, so he was in somewhat of a no-win situation.   Just like the relatively pedestrian four years of Gibbs 2 is looked upon so favorably by some, largely because he came in the middle of two doofuses in Spurrier and Zorn.

 

Seems like what we have now with the former respected OC in JayGru and the established GM in Scotty Mac comes closest to what we had with Norv and Casserly.  It'll be quite interesting to see how it plays out.......I think Jay is back as coach next season, but how patient will Dan be with him?

[petey hodge]

Alvin Harper?

Al Noga?

Ethan Horton?
Carl Banks?  (well, he was OK... but he was no Wilbur Marshall)

[Riggo-toni]

Leonard Marshall. One of Casserly's earliest busts.

I think the only 3 good FAs I remember from the Casserly era were Henry Ellard, Ken Harvey, and Terry Allen. Can't remember if Marco Coleman was him or Cerrato, but he was a solid pickup as well. Dishman had one great year before completely falling into major suckitude, even with Darrell Green on the other side.

Not sure why some of you guys are including people who just got injured (Patton, Barrow) or dudes who were signed to near vet min contracts as depth but were forced into action or got cut in training camp (Larry Johnson).

[Bishop Hammer]

Also can't leave out Eddie Murray the kicker who singlehandedly cost us the paloffs in 2000 and probably Norvs job as well so not all bad.

To this day I still despise that name.

Whoops, meant Turk who botched the snap in the Tampa playoff game.