Redskins’ Snyder just doesn’t get it

By Connor Byrne  |   Friday, March 02, 2007  |  Comments( 11 )

Washington Redskins
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At this time a year ago, the Washington Redskins were gearing up for free agency, hoping to bring in the right players to put a 10-6 team from 2005 over the top in '06. They added big names like Antwaan Randle El, Brandon Lloyd, Andre Carter and Adam Archuleta for astronomical contracts, and all it got them was a highly disappointing 5-11 record.

Now, in March 2007, free agency is dawning, and Washington seems to have once again failed to learn from its past transgressions. The Redskins' hard-headed owner, Daniel Snyder, doesn't understand that championships are won through drafts and signing mid-level players who fit your system. Snyder, whom the Redskins' fans generally distrust and dislike, is set to shell out all kinds of money beginning today on a weak free-agent market.

Already linked to Washington are two soon-to-be former Buffalo Bills, cornerback Nate Clements and linebacker London Fletcher-Baker, who will come at premium prices.

The Redskins always find room to add overpriced, aging veterans, yet they never have the wherewithal to retain valuable draft choices. That's why, as of right now, they're a dead-end franchise that is steadfast in not growing from past errors.

Snyder has debilitated his Joe Gibbs-led team with guys like Randle El, Archuleta and plenty of others who accomplished their ultimate goal -- signing large contracts. Is it really their top priority to win a title? It's hard to blame them if they're on cruise control. That's probably most of the Redskins' mentality, in fact, as evidenced by an awful '06 campaign that went from Super Bowl aspirations to the sixth overall choice in this April's draft.

There are numerous holes to fill in D.C. this offseason, and not many of them should be patched via free agency. Ask yourself: Have the New England Patriots ever broken the bank on veterans? Absolutely not. If anything, the three-time Super Bowls winners have become known over the years for purging older players from their roster and bringing in fresh talent. Washington is the polar opposite of that model, and it has been since Snyder took the reins in 1999.

Washington, for lack of a better modern-day comparison, is the NFL's best imitation of the NBA's New York Knicks. The Knicks, led by the ineptitude of general manager Isiah Thomas, have been bashed mercilessly and repeatedly for trading away key draft choices and taking on large contracts for underwhelming, over-the-hill veterans via trades and free agency. Sounds kind of familiar, doesn't it, Redskins fans?

Today, March 2, is the start of the free agency bonanza, and don't expect the Redskins to change their ways. There is some young talent on the roster, but it won't be enough when the team -- which has almost become a laughingstock from free spending -- is watching the postseason on television next January.

"I believe we have learned from 2000 about signing older players to long contracts," Redskins vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato told me last July.

Evidently not.

cbyrne@realfootball365.com.

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