[Schneed10]

So I emailed this clown and let him know what I thought of his Redskins trade idea. He's actually a pretty reasonable guy, just doesn't seem to be very in the know. And I think he thinks I'm a homer, but at least willing to listen to opinions.

My first email:
I read your article "Ravens, Redskins Need to Think Trade." This is just terrible. I know that you acknowledge that your trade scenarios regarding Ray Lewis and Brunell/Betts/Cartwright are far-fetched, but even so, why in the H-E-double hockey sticks would the Redskins ever want to pick Jay Cutler??? Have you forgotten that they just sent umpteen million draft picks to Denver to draft Jason Campbell last year? Do you think they've soured on him already? Or have you just been playing too much Madden? It's time to come out of the clouds and write something that actually makes sense.

His Response:
My column is a chance to have fun, and crack jokes about what's going on. That's all I was doing. We both know those trades are never going to happen, but like I said in the piece, "it's fun to ponder." Thanks for reading, but saying my writing doesn't make sense isn't particularly nice. My column is my one chance a week to say whatever I want, whether it makes sense or not. That's the fun part.

My Response:
I agree it's fun to think about the far-fetched trade possibilities, you kind of get to pretend you're a GM for a second and decide what you'd do. Everybody likes that and I can see where you're coming from. But when you say the Redskins should select Jay Cutler, it comes across as if you know very little about the Washington Redskins. It seemed like you didn't even realize Jason Campbell was on the roster. If you're going to ponder the unreasonable, at least say the Skins would like to make that trade to jump up the draft board and take Ernie Sims or Chad Greenway. Take care.

His Response:
No prob. Here's my thing - I covered about five Skins home games last year, and in about three I thought Brunell should have gotten the hook, and Campbell gotten a chance, but that never happened. If you're going to trade away a first-rounder for a guy, give him a chance to play. They never did. The offense needs a spark, and no matter what the numbers say (91 percent passer rating for Brunell in '05), I don't think the old man provides it. It's fun to talk football. Saturday, and September can't come fast enough.

My Response:
As you can probably tell, I'm a Skins fan. And you're right it's great to talk football. Gibbs really loves Brunell because he's a great game manager. Last year he had 23 TDs and only 10 INTs. It seems like the offense is punchless at times because Brunell doesn't force passes. If it's not there, he throws it away and takes the punt. He's definitely not the same Brunell he once was. The old Brunell used to make all kinds of plays that most QBs couldn't. But given the fact that Gregg Williams' defense can be relied upon consistently, avoiding turnovers and punting isn't a bad strategy.

I'm as excited as any Skins fan to see what Campbell can do. And hopefully he turns out great sooner rather than later. But fact is, he's young and will probably make mistakes. I think the offense should get a spark from the new schemes of offensive coordinator Al Saunders, who always has his RBs cranking out big yardage (Faulk in St. Louis circa 1999 and Priest Holmes/Larry Johnson in KC). Portis should rumble this year. And I think the new WRs with Randle-El and Lloyd command just enough attention that defenses can't double-cover Santana Moss anymore.

I think the Skins will see more punch from those factors, and having Brunell in there making the right decision should take them a ways.

At least I'm hoping.

His Response:
You write like a true Skins fans. Great insight. Best of luck to your team.

And thanks for reading.