Redskins report: Inside slant Jan. 29, 2004

[BillyKilmer]

Redskins report: Inside slant Jan. 29, 2004

Notes, quotes, anecdotes | Strategy and personnel The NFL has changed quite a bit in the 11 years since Joe Gibbs was Redskins coach, and no alteration has had greater impact than the salary cap. But after opening a crash-course on the cap, the newly rehired legend was fairly confident the fundamentals of building a team were the same.

"Even though there's a salary cap, I'm getting convinced that there's a core group you can work with, [and] you can keep that core group," Gibbs said. "Once you've got the core group, the young guys come in and say, 'If I want to be a Redskin, that's the guy who's a Redskin.' I think we've got some of those [core] guys here."

Managing the cap while trying to maintain roster continuity will be one of the biggest challenges facing Gibbs in his return to Washington. Although he won't oversee the cap per se (owner Dan Snyder and contract specialist Eric Schaffer spearhead that effort), Gibbs will have heavy input on which players stay and go.

It will be interesting to watch Washington reconstruct its roster this offseason. The last two times Snyder and personnel chief Vinny Cerrato were in charge, they racked up the NFL's highest payroll (2000) and second-highest payroll (2003), based on rankings in given years.

There already has been speculation that the Redskins will spend freely again this offseason, which could spell trouble. The conventional wisdom among those who analyze caps is that a spike in payroll every three or four years is expected, but that a consistently high payroll will dunk a club's cap.

Gibbs, whose sway over the roster should be almost total in his first offseason (while the honeymoon's in full gear), might not have the cap knowledge to rein in Snyder's need for high-priced and well-known additions.

The Redskins have the draft's No. 5 overall pick and are expected to pursue veterans like Cincinnati running back Corey Dillon, Tampa Bay defensive tackle Warren Sapp and Tennessee defensive end Jevon Kearse.

The player-picking process will be interesting to watch, particularly as time goes on. Management is expected to defer to Gibbs' wishes in the short term (he has admitted his title of "president" is superfluous; he has the same contractual power Spurrier had), but things could get messy in coming years if Washington doesn't win out of the gate.

For now, Gibbs has an idealistic vision of how the front office will go about selecting players.

"Here's what we want: When we take a player, we want it to be our player," Gibbs said. "Everybody's had their input. Everybody's helped put the grade on it. Then when he comes here, he's our player. We'll find that we make mistakes. But it was our mistake. Not me. Not some of the coaches. Not some of the scouts. It was all of us together."

[Om]

Boy, there's nothing like a dose of straight, objective reporting to start the morning.

[Thinking Skins]

Oh no, Joe Gibbs said "WE" Why is he so defensive???

[Riggo-toni]

Would anyone care to wager Sapp is as far off our radar screen as Boston and Price were last year!

[Storm]

Sapp, kearse and Dillon? Man I dont want any of those three, theyre either too old, too expensive or too much of a disruption in the locker room.

[SonnyJ]

I just find it hard to believe that the Redskins, or any team, are making it obvious who they are looking at in FA.

If they are putting public notice out on these guys, I suspect that it may be a diversion of some sort.

[Lavarisgod]

I'd take Dillon, but I think Sapp is too old, too overrated, and too fat.

[OURYEAR#56]

I want Dillion. The rest are shot in my opinion. I don't understand the sentiment by some people on this site about C. Dillion. He's a student of the game. He broke the rushing record on a really bad team. Even if he's approaching 30 he is still one of the top five RB in the game. I read somewhere that he's too small. The guy is 6'1 225. We need personalities in the club house. I know he seemed disgruntled but I think that was a reaction to the atmosphere in Cincy. I think M Lewis used him as a lightening rod, and make the team fall in line. He would be a great addition to the team. With him we wouldn't have to draft KW2 or a TER in the first two rounds. We can use him and concentrate on our defense.

[Skins11]

All the more reason to TRADE DOWN and get more picks!!

[scottb]

Inside slant?...nothing inside about this fluff piece. Between now and the FA period, this "stuff" is going to recycled over and over in many articles....sigh.

[NVskinsfan]

Originally posted by riggo-toni

Would anyone care to wager Sapp is as far off our radar screen as Boston and Price were last year!

I would, because of one reason GIBS and his mastery of the deflection/smokescreen.

I would take SAPP and his no quit motor! :thumbsup:

[Skins26]

I hope "our" player is Mr. Sean Taylor!

[Jay Master Jay]

Those three players will fill major holes immediately. We keep Champ then trade down for some more picks. We get 2 or 3 tight ends a couple more D linemen and the holes are fixed. We're not far away and this is pro football not a church. As long as the players come in and play well for us that's all that matters. Darryl Gardner had a bad rap coming in and he was a positive player on our team. FA will want to play for the Redskins because they know Joe Gibbs is a winner and will take them to a championship.