Don’t blame Redskins’ Snyder for trying to win

By Connor Byrne  |   Friday, May 26, 2006  |  Comments( 28 )

Washington Redskins
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Ever since Daniel Snyder purchased the Washington Redskins in 1999, critics have piled on the billionaire, accusing him of being greedy and trying to form an NFL monopoly by throwing huge money at free agents. However, it's not Snyder's greed that's annoying his detractors, it's the fact that the owners of the teams they root for don't go the extra mile. Like the New York Yankees' infamous chairman, George Steinbrenner, all Snyder wants to do is win, and he'll stop at nothing to accomplish his ultimate goal. And obviously, there's nothing wrong with that.

When Snyder took over the Redskins, the team was making about $10 million less than their archrival, the Dallas Cowboys. Now that Snyder has grabbed the reins, the Redskins have exceeded the Cowboys' revenues by a whopping $40 million. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was supposed to be the most money-wise owner in the league, but Snyder has grossly upstaged him as a businessman.

Snyder's first few years in Washington were accompanied by excruciating struggles, but he made it all better in 2004 when he hired the legendary Joe Gibbs, who head coached the Redskins to three Super Bowl victories in the '80s and '90s. Nobody ever expected Gibbs to return from his decade-plus coaching retirement, but Snyder successfully pried him from his NASCAR-obsessed stupor, and achieved what seemed like an impossibility. Now that Gibbs has returned, the Redskins are knocking on the door of another Super Bowl title.

Perhaps most importantly, Gibbs' Redskins defeated the Cowboys twice last season by a combined score of 49-20. Prior to the 65-year-old's return, the Redskins had lost 11 of 12 contests against Dallas since Snyder took over.

Snyder, who is essentially the GM of the Redskins, has done a magnificent job over the past couple of seasons of finding top-flight talent. He's taken some of the pressure off himself by trading away draft picks for talent that has already been groomed; for example, this offseason he dealt third and fourth-round draft selections to the San Francisco 49ers for valuable wideout Brandon Lloyd, who was underrated and underutilized in the Bay Area.

To go along with the Lloyd acquisition, Snyder brought in former Steelers receiver Antwaan Randle El for $31 million, ex-Patriots tight end Christian Fauria for nearly $2 million, as well as former 49ers defensive end Andre Carter and former Rams safety Adam Archuleta for $30 million each. The common denominator between four of the five big-name acquisitions? Playoff experience.

Other than Lloyd, of course, Randle El (Super Bowl win), Fauria (two Super Bowl wins), Carter (two playoff appearances) and Archuleta (two playoff appearances and a Super Bowl appearance) have all been to the January jamboree known as the postseason. Thus, Snyder isn't just paying veterans to prove his riches, but making calculated moves to bring much-needed big-game experience to the Redskins' roster. For Lloyd, the Redskins are hoping he finds the playoffs in D.C., which he was never able to do on three ulcer-inducing 49er teams.

To be fair, all the credit shouldn't go to Snyder. He's had plenty of help from the Washington Redskins' vice president of football operations, Vinny Cerrato. Along with Snyder, Cerrato has done a solid job of finding good veterans with the ability to contribute. The owner/VP tandem went against the grain and brought in former Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Mark Brunell for big money in 2004. That move paid off last season, as Brunell flung 23 touchdown passes en route to the Redskins' first postseason appearance since the '99 season.

The bottom line is, the NFL is nothing if not a business, and Snyder, the ultimate businessman, has brought a win-first, big-money mentality to Washington. It may not be politically correct among the average football fan, but it's starting to prove effective for the Redskins. After all, the most important thing in today's league is to put a solid, watchable product on the field for the fans, and Snyder's done just that. Who wouldn't want to go watch the likes of Clinton Portis and Randle El every week? If I were a Redskin fan I certainly would; now pass me the nachos and beer.

Connor J. Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com

Get more Daniel Snyder insights at Realfootball365.com
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