Core of the Redskins problem: Greed

[Drift Reality]

I'm posting this as someone who has been a fan of the Redskins since I was born. Literally - there was a Redskins game actually going on when my Mother was in labor and the nurse had to actually get my Father and the Doctor out of the waiting room to attend to her.

I digress, I've been a fan through the glory days and on through the Snyder era and I think at the core of this problem is simply a general miscalibration on Dan Snyder's part in failing to fully recognize how his huge contracts to outside players has a negative impact on the internal organization.

Take Sean Taylor for example. How do you think he must feel when they go out and bring in Archuleta for a larger contract? Where is his incentive to go out and kick ass when he is locked into a multi-year deal that is paying him less than the white (I hate to bring in the race card but I am going to) inferior safety next to him.

To put this in context, the Skins publicly said they would not resign Smoot for more than Springs was making because they felt he wasn't the same caliber player. According to that logic, would they sign Archuleta for more than Sean Taylor makes because they feel he is a better talent? You see where I'm going with this one?

How about Lemar Marshall? We are talking about a guy making nothing in NFL terms, who probably has seen what has happened to other undrafted FA's such as Ryan Clark and Antonio Pierce, guys who have played their asses off and not been rewarded internally. Why would he want to sacrifice life and limb for a team that he knows isn't going to reward him because it is unsexy to sign an undrafted FA to a competitive contract.

In a traditional environment, a team will draft young players and then those young players will be rewarded internally. They will develop a great deal of respect for the organization because they know at the end of the day, it is them who is going to get the big contract and not some external. I know a lot of us played high school football. Imagine busting your ass from freshman through junior year only to be told your senior year that they were going to bring in a transfer to take your job. Now imagine if that was the culture of your high school. Would you be as inclined to kill yourself for your team?

And this my friends, is what is at the core of the problem here: It is an egregious oversight on the part of management to really consider what is truly at stake. In their drive to try and buy their way through the NFL process, they have really hamstrung themselves in the long run.

Until Snyder steps back and lets a GM with a proven track record (like Grunfeld with the Wizards) fully take over the organization, we are going to continue to suffer like this I'm afraid...

So lets all collectively pray that come offseason, we find a way to renew faith in the draft, re-sign our own free agents, maybe fill one or two holes with solid but not ridiculous free agent signings, ante up for those internal players who were successful, cut Mark Brunell, and bring some pride back into this franchise.

[jdlea]

Originally Posted by Drift Reality

I'm posting this as someone who has been a fan of the Redskins since I was born. Literally - there was a Redskins game actually going on when my Mother was in labor and the nurse had to actually get my Father and the Doctor out of the waiting room to attend to her.

I digress, I've been a fan through the glory days and on through the Snyder era and I think at the core of this problem is simply a general miscalibration on Dan Snyder's part in failing to fully recognize how his huge contracts to outside players has a negative impact on the internal organization.

Take Sean Taylor for example. How do you think he must feel when they go out and bring in Archuleta for a larger contract? Where is his incentive to go out and kick ass when he is locked into a multi-year deal that is paying him less than the white (I hate to bring in the race card but I am going to) inferior safety next to him.

To put this in context, the Skins publicly said they would not resign Smoot for more than Springs was making because they felt he wasn't the same caliber player. According to that logic, would they sign Archuleta for more than Sean Taylor makes because they feel he is a better talent? You see where I'm going with this one?

How about Lemar Marshall? We are talking about a guy making nothing in NFL terms, who probably has seen what has happened to other undrafted FA's such as Ryan Clark and Antonio Pierce, guys who have played their asses off and not been rewarded internally. Why would he want to sacrifice life and limb for a team that he knows isn't going to reward him because it is unsexy to sign an undrafted FA to a competitive contract.

In a traditional environment, a team will draft young players and then those young players will be rewarded internally. They will develop a great deal of respect for the organization because they know at the end of the day, it is them who is going to get the big contract and not some external. I know a lot of us played high school football. Imagine busting your ass from freshman through junior year only to be told your senior year that they were going to bring in a transfer to take your job. Now imagine if that was the culture of your high school. Would you be as inclined to kill yourself for your team?

And this my friends, is what is at the core of the problem here: It is an egregious oversight on the part of management to really consider what is truly at stake. In their drive to try and buy their way through the NFL process, they have really hamstrung themselves in the long run.

Until Snyder steps back and lets a GM with a proven track record (like Grunfeld with the Wizards) fully take over the organization, we are going to continue to suffer like this I'm afraid...

So lets all collectively pray that come offseason, we find a way to renew faith in the draft, re-sign our own free agents, maybe fill one or two holes with solid but not ridiculous free agent signings, ante up for those internal players who were successful, cut Mark Brunell, and bring some pride back into this franchise.

That's a really good point and I agree with most of it. However, I don't know that it really makes guys unmotivated to work hard because if they don't then they won't get paid elsewhere. That's pretty much the only issue where we disagree. I think a guy will work hard with no intention cause they've seen what happens to the guys who do bust their ass: they don't get paid.

In spite of that, you'll get a million responses saying "Snyder loves this team", "Snyder spends close to the cap every year, how can you say he doesn't want to win?" and all that kinda crap.

[Drift Reality]

Originally Posted by jdlea

That's a really good point and I agree with most of it. However, I don't know that it really makes guys unmotivated to work hard because if they don't then they won't get paid elsewhere. That's pretty much the only issue where we disagree. I think a guy will work hard with no intention cause they've seen what happens to the guys who do bust their ass: they don't get paid.

In spite of that, you'll get a million responses saying "Snyder loves this team", "Snyder spends close to the cap every year, how can you say he doesn't want to win?" and all that kinda crap.

I agree with you there. These players are still interested in doing well, but my retort would be take the example of a safety blowing up a play by filling his role and taking on a lead block. Remember - you don't get a tackle for that kind of play. That is the kind of play that your own team will know about because they are going to scrutinize all the film but when it comes time to pay day in the open market, then the interested team is going to be very interested in your statistics and highlight reel. So going back to the play, when you know that your own team isn't going to reimburse you long-term, and your goal is to get paid, are you going to try and blow up the fullback, or circumvent the fullback (not filling your role) and try to hit the running back to make a highlight reel because you know your only chance to get paid is with another team?

[firstdown]

Taylore is a very poor example to use he has been all over the field. I think that all teams would have this problem because most players have egos and think they are better than theair counterparts.

[Drift Reality]

Originally Posted by firstdown

Taylore is a very poor example to use he has been all over the field. I think that all teams would have this problem because most players have egos and think they are better than theair counterparts.

Would you say that Taylor is having as strong a year as he did last year? Or even the year before that?

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by Drift Reality

Would you say that Taylor is having as strong a year as he did last year? Or even the year before that?

Yes I'd say he is it the D as a whole thats not playing as good as the past couple of years.

[Drift Reality]

Originally Posted by firstdown

Yes I'd say he is it the D as a whole thats not playing as good as the past couple of years.

Fair enough...I think the defense is playing terribly as a whole. I think I've seen Taylor not show up in pass coverage the way he has in the past two years though. He is still playing hard, but I don't think he is the same player he was last year. I can almost guarantee Archuleta's contract is a source of discontent for him.

[Southpaw]

Originally Posted by Drift Reality

Would you say that Taylor is having as strong a year as he did last year? Or even the year before that?

Of course not, but with Springs out, he has to play completely different than he has in his previous seasons. He's used to floating to the ball, and moving up to stuff the run, but since the play at the corner position all season, he's having to play a lot of man coverage, which is not one of his strengths.

[jdlea]

I'm sure it is cause he wasn't happy with his deal since last season. So seeing Archuleta get paid probably bugs him, but I don't think he's not playing hard because of that. I think he's having a decent season, just a little suspect in pass coverage, but why the hell is playing one on one with guys all the time anyway?

[Drift Reality]

Originally Posted by jdlea

I'm sure it is cause he wasn't happy with his deal since last season. So seeing Archuleta get paid probably bugs him, but I don't think he's not playing hard because of that. I think he's having a decent season, just a little suspect in pass coverage, but why the hell is playing one on one with guys all the time anyway?

Guys, maybe the Sean Taylor example wasn't good because I think it distracts us from the real issue, which is the personnel strategy.

I know Taylor has a huge following on this board and I'm one of his biggest fans.

All I'm saying is that when you are playing to make a highlight reel you are going to play more undisciplined than when you are playing for your team. I think some guys may be playing for themselves moreso than for their team and I think the personnel strategy is a big influencer on that.

[Oakland Red]

This race card business is a joke. Sean Taylor has gone through a lot in his young career and I can't think of another team in professional sports who would have been so supportive as the Washington Redskins have been.

The jury is out on Archuleta since he is learning a new defense in a context where everything is out of whack due to all the injuries. The Redskins thought they were signing a great player, an experienced veteran with truly exceptional ability who would fit perfectly with what the Redskins wanted to do. Taylor can expect a hefty raise when his contract is up if he keeps making progress like he has. Gregg Williams has made it clear Taylor is the player with the most talent he has ever coached. Archuleta was supposed to be the guy who really sent our secondary over the top, to help get us to the Super Bowl. The Redskins didn't feel that Ryan Clark was that kind of player.

The Redskins wanted to sign Pierce, but Pierce wanted the big stage of New York. A judgment was made about Smoot that we could do better with a draft choice, supported by a veteran at that position to give him time to mature, than to give him a huge contract. Who knows all the reasons went into the decision about Smoot. The basic point is correct - not to pay him a lot more than Springs. Archuleta may not be the player they hoped for, and it may have been a mistake to sign him, but they thought they were getting a special player who would be a major difference maker. Taylor's talent at this stage in his career, especially with how things have gone with him overall, is not a suffcient reason to say we cannot pay anyone more than him at safety in my view.

We have been setting ourselves up for a Super Bowl run, and now has not been the time to just go on draft choices. If you are a core Redskin, and you don't want to leave like Pierce did, you will be rewarded on this team.

[djdunick]

Drift,

As far as Taylor is concerned. Let's face facts. Race had nothing to do with his current contract. How about blaming his agent and the fact the for the terriffic performer he is on the field he's a basket case off the field and makes bad decisions. Remember how he hired/fired agents? And lest we forget that the current management has a history of bringing in players from the outside and paying them more then draft picks (the few that we have) regardless of color.

The only other factor that I could think of besides playing ability that would factor into the pay level would have nothing to do with black and white, it would have to do with the color green. With Sean Taylors antics on and off the field (spitting @ the Tampa Bay game, personal fouls, arrest on gun charges) I would certainly believe that Archuletta's squeeky clean image is more marketable then Taylor's.


I do agree his level of play has deteriorated. I watched him closely last week against the Giants and on a couple of plays I was used to seeing his 'hit seeking missle' hits and instead he delivered a very soft hit. I'm not sure what his problem is.

[Beemnseven]

I disagree with the "greed" aspect. Can anyone define greed, by the way?

Is it greedy to win as many games as you can? Is it greed to make as much money as you can?

I've never understood the whole "greed" thing, in any sense. We all want what's best for us, and the same goes for the team.

[jdlea]

I'm not really going with the Snyder angle, I'm just saying what the Skins do with free agents is wrong, I don't care whose fault it is. It's not really a good long term solution. I said people would defend Snyder, I didn't say it was him.

[djdunick]

DriftReality,

I couldn't agree with you more on most of your assessment. Bringing in free agents and paying big money to outsiders does have a demoralizing effect on your psyche. Plus chemistry always takes time. It's kind of like bringing in contractors to do your work (I'm a Gov Tech Lead and hate to bring in 'hired guns' to do your work but that's the govt' way, I digress). Cultivating draft picks is a much more long term successful way to build a Super Bowl Champ but this owner doesn't get it after 7 years. Is he insane or what. He keeps making the same mistake over and over. That's the definition of insanity. On top of the emotional effect all the free agents have on the team people are out of position at times. Free Agency should be a supplement to your team to fill gaps not a way to build your entire team.

PS. - That was a cheap shot and uncalled for; dealing out the racial card when comparing Taylor and Archuletta.