Sheriff Gonna Getcha
07-22-2004, 03:00 PM
In a perfect world, the Redskins front office would have: (1) known that the free agent market was about to be flooded with high-profile, quality quarterbacks and not lost a third round pick to acquire Mark Brunell; (2) known the draft order; and (3) not given up the league’s best cornerbacks for one of the league’s best running backs.
MARK BRUNELL
That said, immediately after we traded a third-rounder for three-time Pro-Bowler Mark Brunell, I criticized the move. I have no doubt that Mark Brunell, who has a career quarterback rating of 85, will be an excellent quarterback who will lead the Redskins to the playoffs, if not the Super Bowl, and I think that he will be a fantastic mentor to Patrick Ramsey.
However, Mark Brunell will be 34 years old this September and it is unlikely that he will be a quality starter for more than two to three years. Moreover, Brunell has a history of injuries and at 34, he’s likely to have more. Finally, we signed Mark Brunell to a seven year contract worth $43 million (including a $8.6 million signing bonus). Rams QB Mark Bulger, who at 27 years old is seven years younger than Brunell, signed a four year deal with the Rams this offseason for $17 million and a $9 million signing bonus.
Call me crazy, but I think we overpaid for Brunell’s services. To boot, we gave Jacksonville a high third-round pick for the trade and will incur a big cap hit when Brunell retires in 2006 or 2007. I said it then, I’ll say it now, and I’ll say it when we are in the playoffs – this was a bad move.
CHAMP BAILEY-CLINTON PORTIS
Last year I was speaking with a friend of mine about the ultimate fantasy team and I told him that I’d like to have Clinton Portis in my backfield. I have no doubt that Portis will break the 2,000 yard mark this season or next and he will make defenses think twice about blitzing on every down to crush our quarterback. For the first time in three years, our defense will be able to sit on the sidelines for more than 5 minutes at a time to rest and watch our running game wear down opposing defenses. In my opinion, Portis brings no fewer than three wins to our team.
Champ Bailey is a true player and man; he’s got class, heart, and the ability to shut down opposing wideouts on nine out of ten plays. It is also more difficult to find a good cornerback than it is to unearth a great running back.
However, simply because one quality type of player is harder to come by doesn’t mean that he’s worth more than a quality type of player that is easy to find. Bailey was beaten on numerous plays last year and may have lost a step and while he could control one side of the field, Clinton Portis will help the ‘Skins dominate the entire field, if not the entire game. Moreover, it was well known that Bailey did not want to stay in Washington to see how coach Gibbs panned out.
So, I said so long to Champ, hello to Portis, and I defended the trade as an overall good move on the part of the Redskins. Nevertheless, I think the ‘Skins would have been better off to trade Champ for say a first and third rounder (even if Champ is worth two first rounders). We’ve got major holes on the defensive line and we have numerous other less-glaring holes on both offense and defense. I’d have preferred to trade Champ to Minnesota (who has plenty of cap room to accommodate a big contract and a need at cornerback).
SEAN TAYLOR
I haven’t had the pleasure of watching much of Sean Taylor play in college, but I do know that he is special. Taylor will offset the loss of Champ Bailey in our backfield, scare wideouts running slant and crossing routes, and will be much cheaper to sign than say a wideout, running back, defensive lineman et al picked with the 5th overall pick.
However, as I said before the draft, I would have preferred to trade down to New England. Bill Belicheck was supposedly enamored with Taylor and if we could have pulled it off, I would have liked to have traded the 5th overall pick for New England’s two picks in the first round (picks 21 and 32).
As noted above, we have some big holes to fill on both sides of the field and could use an influx of young, relatively cheap (vis-à-vis free agents), and very good players.
THE RESULT
In sum, we lost Champ Bailey, a third rounder, a second rounder, and spent our 5th overall pick on Sean Taylor in order to gain Clinton Portis, Mark Brunell, and Sean Taylor. To me, that sounds like a push – we gained as much as we lost.
In retrospect, if I were the GM of the ‘Skins, I would have kept all my picks by trading Champ for two picks and picking up a quarterback in free-agency and I would have also traded down out of the 5th overall draft selection.
Knowing now how the draft played out, with all of the above mentioned picks, I would have drafted:
1. Steven Jackson #19 (for Bailey from Minnesota)
2. Kenechi Udeze #21
3. Jake Grove #32
4. Randy Starks #41
5. Derrick Straight #72
6. Chris Cooley #82 (for Bailey from Minnesota)
For me, the above seems to fill a lot more holes (even if they are with rookies), is more cap-friendly, and will make our team better with age, not worse (like the Brunell deal and the trading of our picks did).
MARK BRUNELL
That said, immediately after we traded a third-rounder for three-time Pro-Bowler Mark Brunell, I criticized the move. I have no doubt that Mark Brunell, who has a career quarterback rating of 85, will be an excellent quarterback who will lead the Redskins to the playoffs, if not the Super Bowl, and I think that he will be a fantastic mentor to Patrick Ramsey.
However, Mark Brunell will be 34 years old this September and it is unlikely that he will be a quality starter for more than two to three years. Moreover, Brunell has a history of injuries and at 34, he’s likely to have more. Finally, we signed Mark Brunell to a seven year contract worth $43 million (including a $8.6 million signing bonus). Rams QB Mark Bulger, who at 27 years old is seven years younger than Brunell, signed a four year deal with the Rams this offseason for $17 million and a $9 million signing bonus.
Call me crazy, but I think we overpaid for Brunell’s services. To boot, we gave Jacksonville a high third-round pick for the trade and will incur a big cap hit when Brunell retires in 2006 or 2007. I said it then, I’ll say it now, and I’ll say it when we are in the playoffs – this was a bad move.
CHAMP BAILEY-CLINTON PORTIS
Last year I was speaking with a friend of mine about the ultimate fantasy team and I told him that I’d like to have Clinton Portis in my backfield. I have no doubt that Portis will break the 2,000 yard mark this season or next and he will make defenses think twice about blitzing on every down to crush our quarterback. For the first time in three years, our defense will be able to sit on the sidelines for more than 5 minutes at a time to rest and watch our running game wear down opposing defenses. In my opinion, Portis brings no fewer than three wins to our team.
Champ Bailey is a true player and man; he’s got class, heart, and the ability to shut down opposing wideouts on nine out of ten plays. It is also more difficult to find a good cornerback than it is to unearth a great running back.
However, simply because one quality type of player is harder to come by doesn’t mean that he’s worth more than a quality type of player that is easy to find. Bailey was beaten on numerous plays last year and may have lost a step and while he could control one side of the field, Clinton Portis will help the ‘Skins dominate the entire field, if not the entire game. Moreover, it was well known that Bailey did not want to stay in Washington to see how coach Gibbs panned out.
So, I said so long to Champ, hello to Portis, and I defended the trade as an overall good move on the part of the Redskins. Nevertheless, I think the ‘Skins would have been better off to trade Champ for say a first and third rounder (even if Champ is worth two first rounders). We’ve got major holes on the defensive line and we have numerous other less-glaring holes on both offense and defense. I’d have preferred to trade Champ to Minnesota (who has plenty of cap room to accommodate a big contract and a need at cornerback).
SEAN TAYLOR
I haven’t had the pleasure of watching much of Sean Taylor play in college, but I do know that he is special. Taylor will offset the loss of Champ Bailey in our backfield, scare wideouts running slant and crossing routes, and will be much cheaper to sign than say a wideout, running back, defensive lineman et al picked with the 5th overall pick.
However, as I said before the draft, I would have preferred to trade down to New England. Bill Belicheck was supposedly enamored with Taylor and if we could have pulled it off, I would have liked to have traded the 5th overall pick for New England’s two picks in the first round (picks 21 and 32).
As noted above, we have some big holes to fill on both sides of the field and could use an influx of young, relatively cheap (vis-à-vis free agents), and very good players.
THE RESULT
In sum, we lost Champ Bailey, a third rounder, a second rounder, and spent our 5th overall pick on Sean Taylor in order to gain Clinton Portis, Mark Brunell, and Sean Taylor. To me, that sounds like a push – we gained as much as we lost.
In retrospect, if I were the GM of the ‘Skins, I would have kept all my picks by trading Champ for two picks and picking up a quarterback in free-agency and I would have also traded down out of the 5th overall draft selection.
Knowing now how the draft played out, with all of the above mentioned picks, I would have drafted:
1. Steven Jackson #19 (for Bailey from Minnesota)
2. Kenechi Udeze #21
3. Jake Grove #32
4. Randy Starks #41
5. Derrick Straight #72
6. Chris Cooley #82 (for Bailey from Minnesota)
For me, the above seems to fill a lot more holes (even if they are with rookies), is more cap-friendly, and will make our team better with age, not worse (like the Brunell deal and the trading of our picks did).