Commander Adama Posted March 4, 2004 Share Posted March 4, 2004 Here it is here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28438-2004Mar3.html Personnel Shoppers By Michael Wilbon Thursday, March 4, 2004; Page D01 Once again, nobody is more impressive than the Washington Redskins in March -- sometimes even late April, after the college draft. By the time the Redskins finish assembling free agents and draft picks they usually look like the '27 Yankees, ready to take apart every opponent on the schedule. By the time the NFL's free agency period was only a few hours old yesterday, the Redskins had officially acquired a shiny new running back in Clinton Portis, welcomed aboard a veteran quarterback in Mark Brunell and brought in a couple of run-stuffers in Phillip Daniels and Cornelius Griffin. Shawn Springs was flying in from the West Coast to take Champ Bailey's vacant spot at cornerback. And indications from agents and personnel people around the NFL last night were that the Redskins planned to sign at least a couple of more defensive players, perhaps a linebacker and another lineman or cornerback. Of course, this has become standard operating procedure for the Redskins: lions in spring, lambs in autumn. The best possible phone call you can receive if you're a free agent is a call from the Redskins the first day of the free agent period in March. It means you're going to the bank, big boy, which is a damn good consolation prize if you're not going to the playoffs. So I asked Redskins owner Dan Snyder, why? This hasn't worked so far, so why do it again? Why shell out all this money in signing bonuses, why remake the team for the fourth time in five years? And he said: "We're trying to build a Joe Gibbs team. I want to get Joe what he wants and what he needs. I wasn't in the room when Joe and the coaches were grading free agents. He does that. I told him, 'I want to do whatever I can to get you what you need.' " If you're looking for me to slap Snyder around for spending too much money, for bidding in some cases against only himself, for giving Brunell an $8.6 million signing bonus, you've come to the wrong space. I'm sure Sally Jenkins will tell you that another day. I'm actually for owners spending money. George Steinbrenner shouldn't be cursed; he should be applauded. Snyder's got a lot of money, so let him spend it. Also, it would be foolish to bring back Gibbs and hand him a tight budget, or tell him to coach Steve Spurrier's players. See, the NFL isn't the NHL. NFL owners don't lose $30 million a year. They make money. Danny makes money. So he ought to spend it on players -- though it would help if he spends it on the right players. But it's not Snyder's job to know who the right players are. That job now belongs to Gibbs, as the coach and chief bottle washer, and whoever he has assisting in that endeavor. This time, Snyder is spending on Gibbs's recommendation. If you think Gibbs is the right man for the job, and it's hard to find anybody here who doesn't believe that, then you give him the players he wants if you can afford them. Snyder can afford them. Also, and this seems to be a new twist, this latest shopping spree seems to be smarter than previous ones. Snyder didn't go to Target, but he didn't go to Saks either. Take, for example, the Bailey-for-Portis swap. I'm neither sold nor screaming in outrage about the trade like Kornheiser, who when last heard from on Redskins matters was telling us how Spurrier was going to be Lombardi. But the Redskins are at a financial advantage in the deal. In 2006, according to those with access to all the numbers, Portis will count $5.4 million against the Redskins' salary cap while Bailey will count $9.2 against the Broncos' cap. So, the Redskins, in 2006, will have Portis and Springs for what it costs to pay Bailey. The Redskins will pay Portis $27.2 million in the first five years of that deal, while the Broncos pay Bailey $27 million in the first three years of his new deal. Daniels, at $2 million per year or so for three years, isn't outrageous. Neither is Griffin, at $4.2 million, as long as they both produce. But that, again, is up to the coaching staff. If you're thinking the Redskins simply went window shopping and bought up everything Gibbs pointed at, that's not the case. The Redskins wanted Jevon Kearse, but thought his $66 million price tag ($24 million for the first three years) was too high, and dropped out of the bidding to keep some kind of financial framework in place. Don't get me wrong, the Redskins aren't the Florida Marlins. But as Snyder said yesterday, "We're still under the cap." The place I would have saved money is at quarterback. Jeff Garcia over the past four years has been much more productive and much healthier than Brunell. In the fabulous history of the 49ers and their quarterbacks, who do you think holds the single-season club record for passing yards? Montana? Nope. Steve Young? Try again. It's Garcia. The Redskins wouldn't save any money signing Garcia, but I'd rather have him at 34 years old than Brunell, 33, who essentially didn't play last season. But the Redskins were so far into their dance with Brunell by the time Garcia was cut loose on Tuesday that it was too late to change partners, if Gibbs was so inclined anyway. In terms of how much the Redskins are paying for their quarterbacks, they'll probably start the season ranked around 15th in the league. When the dust clears, the Redskins will probably have put together the kind of defense that assistant head coach/defense Gregg Williams was comfortable coaching in Buffalo, which means lots of people paying attention to stuffing the run and very aggressive schemes, but perhaps no marquee pass rusher when the season opens. They'll also have about a three-year window for winning something with this group. After that, all bets are off -- and a whole lot of contracts will have to be restructured. That must be shockingly new to Gibbs, to put in all these hours of work to assess and acquire players he'll have for three years, not seven or eight. All this maneuvering does not mean the Redskins will be in the playoffs come January, or even have a winning season. All it means is that Gibbs, preparing to do battle with the three-time conference finalist Eagles and Bill Parcells's resurgent Cowboys, will have most of what he thinks he needs. That's where the process begins for the Redskins, surely not, as we have seen repeatedly, where it ends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wicked Wop Posted March 4, 2004 Share Posted March 4, 2004 The Portis/Springs vs. Champ Bailey cap numbers is very good news Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blade Posted March 4, 2004 Share Posted March 4, 2004 Thanks for posting this article, but PLEASE use the following format for the subject line for all articles: WP: Personnel Shoppers (Wilbon) WP=Washington Post (use appropriate abbreviations for other papers/sites) You dont have to put the author in parentheses, but it helps when its an opinion column like his. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander Adama Posted March 4, 2004 Author Share Posted March 4, 2004 Originally posted by Blade Thanks for posting this article, but PLEASE use the following format for the subject line for all articles: WP: Personnel Shoppers (Wilbon) WP=Washington Post (use appropriate abbreviations for other papers/sites) You dont have to put the author in parentheses, but it helps when its an opinion column like his. Oh crap! I didn't know sorry. I kept wondering what WP meant! Thanks. :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbooma Posted March 4, 2004 Share Posted March 4, 2004 Don't forget to look before you post as well http://www.extremeskins.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=52583 we all do it every now and then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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