Albert Haynesworth is a Redskin!!!!

All I ask is they find a way to bring in Dock and Willis and this will go in the books as one hell of a free agent weekend.

Ditto DB... but i don't see how we have the money. Admittedly I suck at grasping the cap and especially at how contracts can be structured but I thought after the Springs cut we are just barely below the cap (about $1 mill under). Where the hell r we going to get the $5 to 7 mill unless Taylor is restructured, which i'm totally against, or outright cut?

Ditto DB... but i don't see how we have the money. Admittedly I suck at grasping the cap and especially at how contracts can be structured but I thought after the Springs cut we are just barely below the cap (about $1 mill under). Where the hell r we going to get the $5 to 7 mill unless Taylor is restructured, which i'm totally against, or outright cut?I think both the Haynesworth and Hall deals were submitted to the league office before we made the decision to cut Springs. So I'm guessing the 12 million we had was eaten by those two large contracts, but now the Springs release creates another free 6 million dollars.

And it completes my prediction back from January that the Redskins would have to release two veterans in order to be major players in the FA market. Taylor appears safe, but unless we can get a trade for one of our DTs, we'll only be able to bring in one FA lineman plus whoever we use the first round pick on.

Wow.

He's a dumbass for signing the top free agent available when all of the "experts" said our cap wouldn't permit it?

He's a financial, specifically a salary cap genius. Every year, he's able to turn what looks like cap hell into the capability to sign anyone we need or want. He does it with how contracts are written, plus every year we have some big names who are committed to the team and are willing to restructure to free up cap room. They wouldn't do that if they hated Snyder and weren't buying into the team's future.

That was just an ignorant statement.

I really hope we get to see Snyder operate without a salary cap. This should be fun and we'll definitely win a few more Lombardis.

People hate the Yankees because they can buy whatever player they wish, well, Snyder is just like Steinbrenner...a very successful man who worked to build a fortune. I may not like the Yanks, but if our Skins are one of the most valuable franchises in the world (were #1 before Dallas built their new stadium with a hole in the roof), I am happy about it.

With or without a salary cap, some teams like the Lions will always be bad because of ownership decisions. The Redskins have an owner who has not only become a better owner football-wise, but has all of the money in the league at his disposal because of his personal success.

That's fine and dandy but every year we're up against the cap and we're never a SB contending team. Maybe they ought to change the way they do business.

I think both the Haynesworth and Hall deals were submitted to the league office before we made the decision to cut Springs. So I'm guessing the 12 million we had was eaten by those two large contracts, but now the Springs release creates another free 6 million dollars.

And it completes my prediction back from January that the Redskins would have to release two veterans in order to be major players in the FA market. Taylor appears safe, but unless we can get a trade for one of our DTs, we'll only be able to bring in one FA lineman plus whoever we use the first round pick on.

Fascinating that we were able to get this done on 12 million... so cutting Springs would def indicate we're gonna give some help to the o-line in FA. I would really like to get Dock and Willis but actually if we have to limit it to a single lineman i want Brown.

GTripp i'm very, very curious how you see our front seven lining up on defense. Who will play the ends? Who will be play OLBs? And... are we still a 4-3 defense for absolutely sure?

This is gonna be a looking at this from different perspectives kinda comment. Basically, I think Al Haynesworth is a good player. Is he worth 100 million? Nope. Imo the only people worth 100 million are the ones that you know absolutely deserve it, and Haynesworth has too many questions (examples: can he stay healthy? will he play here like he did in Tennessee? How do we know he wasn't just in it for the money the last two seasons?) for him to be worth it.

I just feel like this is the same old song and dance, and I get tired of it happening every other year with mixed success. 100 Mil is a big gamble on a player, even if he is the best at his position. I also feel like Danny does this just to get the Redskins name on the front page. I take notice of the fact that pretty much all of the Super Bowl winners these past few years were relatively quiet in free agency.

But all that is from a non-football perspective. From a football perspective this sounds like a good idea, Haynesworth is a monster who can eat up double teams and be very disruptive up the middle, which will create opportunities for Taylor and Carter and just make our defense better as a whole. I'm just worried Haynesworth won't live up to his end of the deal.

Fascinating that we were able to get this done on 12 million... so cutting Springs would def indicate we're gonna give some help to the o-line in FA. I would really like to get Dock and Willis but actually if we have to limit it to a single lineman i want Brown.

GTripp i'm very, very curious how you see our front seven lining up on defense. Who will play the ends? Who will be play OLBs? And... are we still a 4-3 defense for absolutely sure?Yes, we're absolutely a 4-3 defense. The rest is just speculation at this point.

Haynesworth will start at the nose. Griffin will take the 3 shade. Carter will be the right end. I have no idea who will start at LE. I think Daniels will probably come back at vet minimum, but it's hard for me to see Jason Taylor there as a three down end. We've already made that mistake once...

Fletch in the middle, and I think Rocky will shift over to the strong side. I could see either Blades, or Taylor, or even a draft pick at weak side LB.

Then you have Hall and Rogers at the corners and Landry and Horton at the safeties, and that's pretty straightforward.

I would consider taking Maualuga with the first round pick if we get some free agent help on the OL. Right now, the defenses biggest weakness is the increasing attrition rate with Fletcher's age, and the fact that we are absolutely reliant on getting another 16 game season from him. He's a warrior, but is that a gamble we really should be taking?

I also think Angelo Crowell is coming here, in addition to one OL signing. His price tag should be on the very cheap.

I also think Angelo Crowell is coming here, in addition to one OL signing. His price tag should be on the very cheap. Where did you hear that? I think we would be better off drafteing a OLB. I think Crowell has some injury issues as well, which causes concern.

I get your point, to an extent. But it seems to oversimplify a broader issue; what's the best way to build a winner? The approach of signing the best guy to the biggest contract hasn't worked. Not just here, but elsewhere. We debate these issues here because we have knowledgable people & a few capologists that take the time to provide us w/info & potential scenarios. If we didn't look at the contracts in such a manner, this site would get boring IMO.

As for the $ side of it. If you're a fan you should care, our $ as consumers allows this to go on. If good players that we drafted are cut due to these big signings, as a fan I care. I want to see the team builds its own talent & pay them ONCE they proven themselves here in DC. Every signing has an implication for the cap & the future. This one has HUGE implications!

On your last sentence, you mean "gold" cent don't you? :)

As far as your comment about signing the best guy to the biggest contract, as I stated, somtimes the big name works out and sometimes they don't. And no one is disputing, or at least they shouldn't be, the fact the Redskins have a lot of players who they drafted and have proven themselves while here in D.C. For every good player that the Skins had to let go because of cap room, they had another two or three that we got great value for. The only sure losing strategy is when you apply the spend at all costs mindset accross the board. And since the Redskins haven't, I don't have any problem with them signing Big Al to a lot of coin. Even if it's gold coin.

For the record, I love having the capologist here on this site. It's one of the many things that make it, arguably, the best NFL fan site in the country. And quite frankly, it makes me feel (this may sound corny) that I'm among some of the most elite fans in the country. So my jab at the cap argument wasn't meant to trivialize or undermine in anyway the hard work and time some of members put into providing us with this valuable knowledge. Or the debate that ensues. It's just not my thing, that's all. But a lot things aren't. Doesn't make them any less important.

I maintain, however, if Big Al stays healthy, the Skins will finish no less than 10-6.

I do think Haynesworth is an elusive "win per year" type player. Even when you consider that he's not going to eat up minutes at DT, I'd say he alone is good enough to turn a 10 win team into an 11 win team.

There's probably fewer than ten DL in the league who qualify for that title, I would estimate. The Giants have one of them in Tuck, too, and Jay Ratliff might make that list as well.