Top Corner or Star Back: Bailey Makes It Clear

[joecrisp]

The Skins were losers for six years before Snyder took over. The fact that they went to the playoffs in '99 is more a reflection of the fact that Snyder lit a fire under Turner's ass than any kind of indication that things were actually headed in the right direction prior to Snyder's purchase of the team. This team was listless and directionless prior to Snyder's purchase. After Snyder bought the team, there still didn't seem to be a clear plan, other than throwing a lot of money at aging, big-name veterans. Snyder made a fool of himself by taking a devil-may-care attitude towards the salary cap, and he will probably never shake the "careless spender" label.

While on the surface it may appear that Snyder hasn't learned anything, and he will never change, his tactics have been refined somewhat since that nightmare 2000 spending spree. He still spends lots of money on free agents, but more often than not, he spends that money on younger players with upside. Yes, there have been disasters, but every team has them. Despite what the Snyder-bashing members of the media would have you believe, the Redskins are not the only team that has had their share of free agency busts.

And I wouldn't be so quick to write-off the second Gibbs era as another "three-year plan". The Redskins might not be as bad off versus the future cap as some might think. Yes, there are some deals that will need to be re-done-- there always will be. And once again, name me a team that doesn't have to re-work players' contracts to stay under the cap. But the fact is, the salary cap is set to increase considerably when the new TV deal is signed sometime in January-February of 2005, and that will likely give the Redskins the breathing room they need to avoid making major roster changes three years from now. Sure, there might be a few overpaid players cut like there are every year, but more than likely, the "core Redskin" players-- the players worth keeping-- will be with this team through Gibbs' entire tenure, if not longer.