Sanders 83 Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Gibbs absorbs two body blows http://www.washingtontimes.com/sports/20050310-122239-1942r.htm By Dan Daly Joe Gibbs tried to explain yesterday but, really, what could he say? In the space of a week, the Redskins had lost three of their best young players -- Antonio Pierce and Fred Smoot to free agency and pouty Laveranues Coles to the Jets in a trade. Coach Joe put the best possible spin on it, noting that the club had re-signed the vast majority of its free agents the past two years, but how many Clifton Smiths add up to an Antonio Pierce? How many Ethan Albrights equal a Fred Smoot? No, the loss of Pierce, Smoot and Coles were power punches directly to Gibbs' midsection -- and more importantly, to the team's never-ending "rebuilding" efforts. "The last couple of days," he admitted, had been some of "the toughest days I've faced. ... I don't like it." Who does -- except the players themselves, who are not only wealthier now but also in better circumstances? After all, Coles' Jets and Smoot's Vikings made the playoffs last season, and Pierce's Giants were in the playoffs the season before that (and in the Super Bowl two seasons before that). The Redskins, on the other hand, are 0-for-the-millennium as far as the playoffs are concerned. And don't think that didn't enter into players' various equations. Sure, money played a part -- it always plays a part -- but it's easier to get a guy to settle for a little less if you're a contender rather than a pretender. Considering all the subtractions from the roster recently, it's hard to see the Redskins making any quantum leaps next season, and Pierce, Smoot and Coles no doubt share that view. The uncomfortable question the team needs to ask itself right now is: Why do these players -- Champ Bailey last year, the aforementioned three this year -- want to leave? It's hard to build anything if you can't hang on to young talent, and aside from throwing piles of dough at LaVar Arrington and Chris Samuels, the Redskins have had mixed results at best in this department. A better way to approach the problem might be to ask: Why would anyone want to stay? The owner, Dan Snyder, is willing to spend but has been extravagantly wasteful. The coach, after an 11-year hiatus, is still coming to grips with the changes in the game. One of the highest-paid players on the club, Mark Brunell, figures to spend the coming season on the bench. And, oh yes, the team hasn't had a winning record since 1999. Does that sound like the Garden of Eden to you? Gibbs sure is getting an education in his first year back on the job. Free agency and the salary cap, he's learning, have changed the entire concept of empire building. Worse, it's the players who often have the upper hand now. Dealing with them can be like dealing with David Spade in that television commercial. You make them an offer, and they say, "No"; you make them another offer, and they still say, "No." In the old days, John Riggins and Art Monk might have had tea with the USFL, but -- thanks to Jack Kent Cooke's Open Wallet Policy -- they ultimately stayed with the "Redskins family." Now, though, everybody shops himself around, even obscure restricted free agents, and teams have to pick and choose who they keep. The Redskins wanted to retain Pierce and Smoot, they just ran out of cap space. They might have had more flexibility if they hadn't been so adventurous last offseason, when they broke all records for check writing. I asked Gibbs about that after the finale against the Vikes, asked him whether he wished he hadn't spent quite so liberally in his first year -- before he had seen his players in action and gotten a better feel for the club's needs. He replied by ticking off the names of all the free agents the Redskins had signed -- Cornelius Griffin, Marcus Washington, Shawn Springs et al. "I don't know that anybody in the league had a better offseason than we did," he said. What he left out, of course, was that all this frenzied recruiting had produced exactly one more victory than the year before. One more win! And now Pierce, Smoot and Coles have followed Bailey out the door. Three more players in the prime of their careers will do their footballing for someone else. (On the plus side, Joe Salave'a and Mike Sellers are sticking around, though that doesn't quite seem to even things out.) You know what no one has mentioned in awhile? Sean Taylor's desire -- expressed not long after the ink was dry on his rookie contract -- for a new deal. So we have that potential soap opera to look forward to ... while we ponder the unfortunate departures of three starters, three "core Redskins." It just never ends, does it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califan007 The Constipated Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 but how many Clifton Smiths add up to an Antonio Pierce? How many Ethan Albrights equal a Fred Smoot? And just last year, this writer would have said "How many Antonio Pierces equal a LaVar Arrington? How Many Ryan Clarks equal a Matt Bowen?"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanders 83 Posted March 10, 2005 Author Share Posted March 10, 2005 Originally posted by Califan007 And just last year, this writer would have said "How many Antonio Pierces equal a LaVar Arrington? How Many Ryan Clarks equal a Matt Bowen?"... I think the better question is what kind of idiot compares Albright to Smoot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califan007 The Constipated Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Considering all the subtractions from the roster recently, it's hard to see the Redskins making any quantum leaps next season, and Pierce, Smoot and Coles no doubt share that view. Ok, this makes no sense...for starters, there were NO "subtractions" for Coles, Smoot and Pierce to base a judgement ON...lol...they WERE the "subtractions". What this writer basically just said here, was that Coles, Smoot and Pierce all said "If I'm not here, this team won't be very good...so I'm not gonna stay on a team that doesn't have me on it."...WTF?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califan007 The Constipated Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Originally posted by Sanders 83 I think the better question is what kind of idiot compares Albright to Smoot? :laugh: :laugh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Califan007 The Constipated Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 He replied by ticking off the names of all the free agents the Redskins had signed -- Cornelius Griffin, Marcus Washington, Shawn Springs et al. "I don't know that anybody in the league had a better offseason than we did," he said. What he left out, of course, was that all this frenzied recruiting had produced exactly one more victory than the year before. One more win! It also produced the #3 defense in the league, up from something like the #25 defense the season before. that's one very real way to gage whether free agent signings were successful...but of course to point that out would ruin the point of the article, so it's better to let it fall by the wayside as unimportant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McMetal Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 100% correct. The Taylor issue is going to get ugly too, before it's all over. Don't expect to see him here after this contract expires. All that $$$, only 1 more win. We could have managed that without shelling out all the money on Brunell. It really never does end. We're just making different mistakes than the ones we used to make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLusby Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 It happens in every club! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fansince62 Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 1 more win....that says it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kappaluvacee Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 I like this type of writing. every player on the roster should clip and post these articles and remember this nut when they are winning games next season without these players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkinsFTW Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 This idiot wants to have it both ways. At first he says that we are losing all these players and will no doubt suck this year because of it. Then he points out how we signed a record number of players last year and have 1 more win. Whatever. I think it might be a good sign that Gibbs is getting the players he wants to be around here but it does suck to lose Pierce. Our defense will be fine though and I'm not worried about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luca Brasi Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Originally posted by fansince62 1 more win....that says it all. That may say it all for someone with no sense of reasoning or someone that bases progress solely on the win/loss total, but not for individuals with more than an ounce of common sense. We finished the year with the #1 defense in the NFC and the offense made steady progress towards the end of the year. Our coaches got to know their players and our offensive coaches familiarized themselves with the NFL all over again. We learned that we don't need superstars at every position to do well. We signed several players that performed at a probowl level all year. Some people must simply take a negative view on every issue, no matter what good, common sense is trying to tell them. So be it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GangstaSkinz Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 does it ever end in any ballclub??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCMONEY Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Originally posted by TLusby It happens in every club! Really? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimreaper36 Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Last year we lost our best CB and starting MLB and everyone was having a panic attack and our defense improved dramatically. I think if Gibbs and GW felt we HAD to have Smoot and Pierce to win, we would have found a way to sign them. Barrow was supposed to start last year and seems to be on schedule for a return, if not Marshal should do fine. We have good DB's who should be able to step it up. I think it'll be fine. I'm glad Coles is gone, wish it didn't cost so much, but good riddance. We have a lot more talent on this team than our record shows. I think our offense will improve a great deal this year and our defense will remain the same or slip slightly. It's cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins11 Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Originally posted by Califan007 And just last year, this writer would have said "How many Antonio Pierces equal a LaVar Arrington? How Many Ryan Clarks equal a Matt Bowen?"... Exactly. This guy probably didn't even know who Antonio Pierce was before this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzSkinsFan63 Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Originally posted by kappaluvacee I like this type of writing. every player on the roster should clip and post these articles and remember this nut when they are winning games next season without these players. Yiou hit the nail on the head winning fixes this immediately..but it's not going to be easy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red zone Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Who does -- except the players themselves, who are not only wealthier now but also in better circumstances? After all, Coles' Jets and Smoot's Vikings made the playoffs last season, and Pierce's Giants were in the playoffs the season before that (and in the Super Bowl two seasons before that). :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Are you kidding me!? Ironically, the Redskins have beaten all three of those teams in their last head to head meetings. The Vikes are a better place to be because they made the playoffs last year? They just lost their best player and their ownership is in flux for chrissakes. Puh-leeze. As much as the haters would have you believe it, this team was NOT propped up on an undrafted FA linebacker, a 2nd round, 170 lb. CB and a disgruntled WO with an arthritic toe. Period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek1973 Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 i am in the kitchen right now cooking crow...extra bitter...just for all these idiots to eat next year when we make the playoffs. If they think a Gibbs coached team will again finish with a 30th rank offense then they shouldn't have jobs. Man I can't wait for next season to start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walking Deadman Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 And had we matched the Giants and Vikes offers for Pierce and Smoot-- the media would have said "The Redskins have paid too much for these average/above average players" and "The Redskins are facing cap-hell in 2006". Am I not wrong? Did they not say that last year (especially about Springs, who many said was a stupid pick-up and that we should have kept Bailey) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skins4eva Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Originally posted by TLusby It happens in every club! Sorry, it doesn't not happen as consistently, as often, as it does with the Redskins--you could set your watch to it. It makes me so sick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrfriedm Posted March 10, 2005 Share Posted March 10, 2005 Originally posted by Sanders 83 I think the better question is what kind of idiot compares Albright to Smoot? That is exactly my thought. This guy obviously is just running off at the mouth with his head up his :moon: He doesn't make a vailid point, and "core Redskins" are players who WANT to be here. :finger: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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