Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

[url=http://coveringtheredskins.blogspot.com/]Covering The Redskins[/url]

I'm loving the new approach.

[I]Among the topics: DJ Hackett, who Cerrato said the team offered much less then the 2 million he received as part of his 3.5 million dollar two year deal with Carolina.. The Redskins wanted Hackett to prove durability and if so, prepared to pay him following this year a salary more commensurate with that of a full time producer.. Hackett chose to go with the better deal..
[B]
I asked Vinny about this philosophy and he said the team isn't holding onto it's 8 mil in cap space for a big splash move for say a Chad Johnson, but that the team is determined not to overpay any longer and hurt their locker room chemsitry..[/B]

I also spoke with Joe Gibbs last night at a Urban Youth racing event where he was the keynote speaker.. It's another interview that will air next week during the Riggins hours on Redskins radio..[B] He described Dan Snyder as an owner who was very wide-eyed when he first arrived for his second go around as head coach, but described Snyder as someone who has matured significantly in terms of the way the team does it's business..[/B] [/I]

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

you can tell snyder has matured, obviously with this years approach, and coaching selection.

nice, it looks like we have alot to look forward to.

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

After reading that, it leaves me with the uneasy feeling that the pendulum might actually start swinging the other way. Are we gonna be one of those penny-pinching franchises now that screws up good deals? I hope not but it seems like we would have still been underpaying for Hackett.

I know i know, we are still the washington redskins and just cuz we have had back-to-back frugal Free agencies, doesn't mean that we have completely changed our ways. I guess i'm just being paranoid and if you are dan snyder and the skins FO, u are damned if u do and damned if u don't...

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[QUOTE=Rajmahal33;433310]After reading that, it leaves me with the uneasy feeling that the pendulum might actually start swinging the other way. Are we gonna be one of those penny-pinching franchises now that screws up good deals? I hope not but it seems like we would have still been underpaying for Hackett.

I know i know, we are still the washington redskins and just cuz we have had back-to-back frugal Free agencies, doesn't mean that we have completely changed our ways. I guess i'm just being paranoid and if you are dan snyder and the skins FO, u are damned if u do and damned if u don't...[/QUOTE]

NO way are we a penny pinching team. They offered Hackett a fair contract because they were worried about his injury issues. If he showed he could stay healthy he would have gotten a nice contract. That is hardly penny pinching. (besides, Hackett favored carolina anyways.)

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

We need to find a good medium between to the two extremes. I dont' want to overpay anyone, but then again I don't want to miss out on an explosive player. The team did an outstanding job on the Hackett deal. I really like the "show me first" aspect. Everyone knows Dan has the deep pockets, but it's a very nice change to see him hold on to it. Good moves.

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

[QUOTE=hagams;433313]We need to find a good medium between to the two extremes. I dont' want to overpay anyone, but then again I don't want to miss out on an explosive player. The team did an outstanding job on the Hackett deal. I really like the "show me first" aspect. Everyone knows Dan has the deep pockets, but it's a very nice change to see him hold on to it. Good moves.[/QUOTE]


Me too, i agree with you man. Dan will never be known as a penny pincher. that's almost humorous.

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

You never know with this economy. Danny might have to start pinching because his investments might be tanking.

But really, the Redskins are still considered a marquee franchise so they will always have that desireability from prospective free agents.

We don't need to cry over free agents we didn't land if we are building a strong team from within. They will merely serve as icing on the cake.

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

I do not ever see the Skins being a penny pinching franchise at least while Snyder is at the helm. I am however glad the Skins trying to build on what they have and add the pieces they need and not going out and overspending on a big name.

Funny, just a few weeks ago we were up in arms about Joe's resignation and the Redskins' hiring process but now it seems we are fairly calm and dare I say optimistic?

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[QUOTE=Skinny Tee;433339]You never know with this economy. Danny might have to start pinching because his investments might be tanking.

But really, [B]the Redskins are still considered a marquee franchise so they will always have that desireability from prospective free agents.[/B]

We don't need to cry over free agents we didn't land if we are building a strong team from within. They will merely serve as icing on the cake.[/QUOTE]

I am curious if this is really true. Were FAs attracted to the Skins because this is a marquee franchise or because we gave away suitcases full of cash to anyone with a pulse? It will be interesting to see if this organization is the marquee organization so many people think it is, or if we will fall back to the pack without the reputation for being over-spenders. Right now, I am of the opinion that there has been a swing in our reputation among FAs because of this change in philosophy. Without the ludicrous contracts, FAs are going to shy away until Coach Zorn and his staff show that they are capable of winning in this league. FA's are interested in big money or winning. Since we are no longer paying the stupid contracts, it's a wait and see as to the winning. I think that once the staff proves itself as winners, then we will once again be looked at as a marquee franchise among FAs.

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

[quote=redwagonskins;433369]I am curious if this is really true. Were FAs attracted to the Skins because this is a marquee franchise or because we gave away suitcases full of cash to anyone with a pulse? It will be interesting to see if this organization is the marquee organization so many people think it is, or if we will fall back to the pack without the reputation for being over-spenders. Right now, I am of the opinion that there has been a swing in our reputation among FAs because of this change in philosophy. Without the ludicrous contracts, FAs are going to shy away until Coach Zorn and his staff show that they are capable of winning in this league. FA's are interested in big money or winning. Since we are no longer paying the stupid contracts, it's a wait and see as to the winning. I think that once the staff proves itself as winners, then we will once again be looked at as a marquee franchise among FAs.[/quote]

As long as we're in the NFC Beast we'll commonly be known as a marquee franchise that many players will like to play for.

I'm not worried unless we stop selling FedEx out every week...and you know that's not happening anytime soon.

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

[QUOTE=Skinny Tee;433409]As long as we're in the NFC Beast we'll commonly be known as a marquee franchise that many players will like to play for.

I'm not worried unless we stop selling FedEx out every week...and you know that's not happening anytime soon.[/QUOTE]


Yeah I have to agree with that.

1) Everyone hates the Cowboys.
2)The Eagles are the bridesmaids of the NFC-East
3)The Giants only have two superbowl(championships) And were never known as a could be/possible dynasty dominant team.

We are the Washington Redskins and we have a storied Franchise, we have great fans,great players, and a great owner.(not everyone agrees)

Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but I believe we are/have been the number 1 franchise in the NFL for a longgggg time. We have 5 total championships[3 superbowls] and 5 superbowl appearances. We have 14 playoff appearances since 1971.

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

"Three Super Bowl championships and 14 playoff appearances since 1971 make the Washington Redskins one of the NFL's most dominant teams of the past quarter century. But the organization's glorious past dates back almost 60 years and includes five overall world championships and some of the most innovative people and ideas the game has ever known. From George Preston Marshall to Jack Kent Cooke, from Vince Lombardi to Joe Gibbs, from Sammy Baugh to John Riggins, plus the NFL's first fight song, marching band and radio network, the Redskins can be proud of an impressive professional football legacy.

George Preston Marshall was awarded the inactive Boston franchise in July 1932. He originally named the team "Braves" because it used Braves Field, home of the National League baseball team. When the team moved to Fenway Park in July 1933, the name was changed to Redskins. A bizarre situation occurred in 1936, when the Redskins won the NFL Eastern division championship but Marshall, unhappy with the fan support in Boston, moved the championship game against Green Bay to the Polo Grounds in New York. Their home field advantage taken away by their owner, the Redskins lost.

Not surprisingly, the Redskins moved to Washington, D.C., for the 1937 season. Games were played in Griffith Stadium with the opener on September 16, 1937, being played under flood lights. That year, Marshall created an official marching band and fight song, both firsts in the National Football League. That season also saw the debut of "Slinging Sammy" Baugh, a quarterback from Texas Christian who literally changed the offensive posture of pro football with his forward passing in his 16-season career. The Redskins won five NFL Eastern division titles and NFL championships in 1937 and 1942 during Baugh's tenure.

Ray Flaherty was Baugh's first pro coach from 1936-1942 and his 56-26-3 record (.701 percentage) is the best in team history. In 1944, the Redskins formed a radio network to broadcast their games throughout the southern United States. By 1950, all Redskins games were televised over a network of southern stations, thus making Washington the first NFL team to have an entire season of televised games. D.C. Stadium (later changed to Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium) was opened in 1961 and the 55,683-seat stadium was the Redskins home through 1996. In 1997 the Redskins moved into the new FedEx Field. A consecutive sellout streak began in 1968 and is still alive today. No other NFL team can claim that long a string of sellouts.

In 1969, the legendary Vince Lombardi guided the Redskins to their first winning record in 15 years but he died of cancer before the 1970 season. Class of 2002 inductee George Allen took over in 1971 and coached Washington to 69 victories, five playoff appearances and the 1972 NFC championship in his seven years. Joe Gibbs, who led the Redskins from 1981 to 1992, ranks as the most successful coach in Redskins' history with a 140-65-0 record that produced eight playoff appearances, five NFC Eastern division championships and victories in Super Bowls XVII, XXII and XXVI. He was named NFL Coach of the Year in 1982 and 1983 and elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

In 2004, Gibbs returned to the sidelines when he was hired as the team's head coach once again." - redskins franchise history

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

The franchise has enjoyed winning ways and innovative personalities for much of the time since it joined the NFL as the Boston Braves in 1932. The team won the NFL title in 1937, its first season in Washington, and then added a second world championship in 1942. Since the AFL-NFL merger, the Redskins have added many playoff appearances and three Super Bowl championships to its rich history and tradition.


No matter what bad has happend to us in the past, this is why we are such a desired team to play for. Every player wants to bring the franchise back to that winning tradition and alot of the kids now grew up redskin fans.

The cowboys talk shit about 5 superbowls and forget we have 3 superbowls and 2 world championships and have the ONLY african-american QB to ever win a superbowl. There are so many differen't things you can look at the redskins and say "damn, that team is FULL of tradition"

cowboys - 5 SB's + 0 world championships = 5 championships
Redskins - 3 SB's + 2 world championships = 5 championships


Post Season Play Championships
League Championships 5 - 1937 (NFL), 1942 (NFL), 1982 (Super Bowl), 1987 (Super Bowl), 1991 (Super Bowl)

Conference Championships 5 - 1972 (NFC), 1982 (NFC), 1983 (NFC), 1987 (NFC), 1991 (NFC)

Division Championships 12 - 1936 (NFL East), 1937 (NFL East), 1940 (NFL East), 1942 (NFL East), 1943 (NFL East), 1945 (NFL East), 1972 (NFC East), 1983 (NFC East), 1984 (NFC East), 1987 (NFC East), 1991 (NFC East), 1999 (NFC East)

Playoff Appearances 20 - 1936, 1937, 1940, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1999

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

I'm pretty sure the Giants have won three Super Bowl's also.

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

It's refreshing to hear that Snyder may be finally learning the value of locker room chemistry. Just look at what this team battled through last year, from all the injuries to Sean Taylor's tragic death. Despite all that the team rallied down the stretch and made the playoffs after they were left for dead at 5-7. That's a team that you don't want to disrupt by bringing in big names with pricey contracts. Snyder said that he learned patience from his time working with Gibbs, and so far it appears that he was telling the truth.

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

[quote=Rajmahal33;433310]After reading that, it leaves me with the uneasy feeling that the pendulum might actually start swinging the other way. Are we gonna be one of those penny-pinching franchises now that screws up good deals? I hope not but it seems like we would have still been underpaying for Hackett.

I know i know, we are still the washington redskins and just cuz we have had back-to-back frugal Free agencies, doesn't mean that we have completely changed our ways. I guess i'm just being paranoid and if you are dan snyder and the skins FO, u are damned if u do and damned if u don't...[/quote]

It might seem that the pendulum is on the other side this year, and frankly, there could be some serious truth to the idea that Synder is having cash flow issues.

If you follow the credit markets, and who couldn't right now with the amount of media play they're getting, you would know that the era of cheap cash borrowing is over. Synder, and others like him, made their fortune through HIGHLY leveraged buy-outs. In other words, they borrow heavily to purchase assets, and then recapitalize (by selling) after they have restructured the asset to be more profitable and more valuable. The only way this business model works is when you have access to lots of cash on the cheap. NO ONE on Wallstreet is offering cheap cash right now, so the cost of borrowing money is very high, and your leverage ratio (the amount you owe, vs. the amount of assets you have) must be much lower than in the past.

Synder has historically carried a very high leverage ratio, and if you recall, the league actually made him pay down his debt on the team to a ratio that was more solvent. I would not be surprised at all to find that Snyder is having problems getting access to cash for all of his businesses. That doesn't mean he is insolvent, just that he has to limit his spending to the cash his businesses are bringing in as opposed to spending the banks money and paying it back.

This is all pure speculation, but it seems very reasonable given Snyders previous business dealings and modus operandi.

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

[QUOTE=Dirtyskin21;433413]Yeah I have to agree with that.

1) Everyone hates the Cowboys.
2)The Eagles are the bridesmaids of the NFC-East
3)The Giants only have two superbowl(championships) And were never known as a could be/possible dynasty dominant team.

We are the Washington Redskins and we have a storied Franchise, we have great fans,great players, and a great owner.(not everyone agrees)

Someone correct me if i'm wrong, but I believe we are/have been the number 1 franchise in the NFL for a longgggg time. We have 5 total championships[3 superbowls] and 5 superbowl appearances. We have 14 playoff appearances since 1971.[/QUOTE]

I know the history of the redskins because I am a fan of the redskins. However, my point is that regardless of our hallowed history, we may not be as appealing to FAs as we think. I don't think some kid who grew up watching whatever local NFL team knows about our history. There is a big "what have you done lately" mentality. Remember that a 26 year old FA was born in or around 1982. They were 8 or 9 when we were last in the Super Bowl! For these players, if we are not going to overpay as in the past, I think it is going to take a few consecutive winning seasons to regain that aura.
Hey, I could be wrong. However, SF has 5 SBs and they have to throw dump-trucks full of cash at FAs to get them to sign as of late, and look at the Raiders and their 3 SB wins. The 49ers, Steelers, Packers, Pats, Raiders, and Cowboys all have 3 or more SB wins with the Giants, Dolphins, and Broncos each at 2. The point is that we do not occupy the rarefied air that we as fans believe we do. A kid who was 9 when we last were in a SB and grew up NOT a fan of the skins, isn't in awe of this organization.
In terms of being the "number 1 franchise", I guess you are referring to revenue. But if you are an employee and you don't get a cut of this revenue, do you really care? Maybe, but if they aren't using the revenue to give enormous signing bonuses as in the past, you probably don't.
BTW, the third highest selling jersey last year was Romo so unless people are buying his jersey to light it on fire, not everyone hate the Cowboys ;)

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

What gets me are the redskins fans that are ripping Snyder for his catious approach this year.Last year they ripped him for throwing money around...lol

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[QUOTE=Mattyk72;433445]It's refreshing to hear that Snyder may be finally learning the value of locker room chemistry. Just look at what this team battled through last year, from all the injuries to Sean Taylor's tragic death. Despite all that the team rallied down the stretch and made the playoffs after they were left for dead at 5-7. That's a team that you don't want to disrupt by bringing in big names with pricey contracts. Snyder said that he learned patience from his time working with Gibbs, and so far it appears that he was telling the truth.[/QUOTE]


*I* agree...And I also have the feeling the players have taken notice as well.

Over the past several years many players have been willing to re-work their contracts on more than one ocasion, to help clear cap space in an effort to bring in new players with the hopes of improving the team. When players look at the results of their efforts, and see players like B. Lloyd, and A. Archuletta being brought in to make limited contributions, and in Lloyd's case actually be a locker-room disruption, it's easy to see why the team took the approach they did with DJ Hackett.

The show me first attitude would have been best served in the case of both those players, and as a result of those decisions I believe the foundation has been established for the approach the team seems now inclined to take.

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

[quote=schndr_tdd;433483]What gets me are the redskins fans that are ripping Snyder for his catious approach this year.Last year they ripped him for throwing money around...lol[/quote]

Yeah I find that to be quite comical myself.

We've begged them be more patient and cautious for years now. Yet anytime a big name comes up there's plenty of people crying for the Skins to make moves. I don't get it.

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Unfortunately for DS, he is going to get it from all sides until he wins consistently. However, I think they are on the right track with this FA approach.

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

[QUOTE=schndr_tdd;433483]What gets me are the redskins fans that are ripping Snyder for his catious approach this year.Last year they ripped him for throwing money around...lol[/QUOTE]


It has become apearent that the only way Mr. Snyder can win is to bet he looses. It's unfortunate that distinction will continue to follow him until he adopts a plan, and remains committed to it for a prolonged period of time.

People are going to continue to be skeptical, even now with the restraint the team has shown, and it will be that way until they're convinced it's a permanent approach.

Re: Some Notes From Bram's Blog
 

[quote=Mattyk72;433445]It's refreshing to hear that Snyder may be finally learning the value of locker room chemistry. Just look at what this team battled through last year, from all the injuries to Sean Taylor's tragic death. Despite all that the team rallied down the stretch and made the playoffs after they were left for dead at 5-7. That's a team that you don't want to disrupt by bringing in big names with pricey contracts. Snyder said that he learned patience from his time working with Gibbs, and so far it appears that he was telling the truth.[/quote]

I do agree 100%. But let's remember that GW was a BIG PART of that team chemistry. If this Zorn hiring blows up in his face it's going to get real ugly.

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[QUOTE=81+83+84=Posse;433435]I'm pretty sure the Giants have won three Super Bowl's also.[/QUOTE]



THey have won 3. They had 2, but this year they won the superbowl so that makes three.