How would you rank him?

I think that each situation is different. The fault or praise has to lie strictly with the coaches, as they typically control the draft and who we go after in free agency. If someone is realistically replacable, then why not. But in Smoot's case, how much will it cost us to replace him? If Gregg Williams is inclined to believe that we have the talent now to replace Smooty flakes, then i cant disagree. But we may want to pick up a decent cornerback in the later rounds. To learn from Walt Harris next year. How old and slow is Walt Harris. My nightmare is a released Fred Smoot, and an injured Shawn Springs. Then Walt Harris gets to cover TO next year.

Exactly! This is why the argument some people make of "can you believe the Redskins gave Trotter a better deal than Ray Lewis' is a bit flawed....it's all in the timing"


smootsmack:

I am the one who usually points out that the Skins paid more for Trotter when they signed him than Ray Lewis was making at the time and I still can't believe it. Despite the contribution Trotter made to the Eagles this year, he is NOT NOW and NOT THEN nor will he EVER BE comparable as a LB to Ray Lewis or to several other MLBs in the league. So, to pay him that kind of money WAS dunb and would STILL BE dumb tocay or tomorrow. Remember, Trotter is a free agent again this year unless the Eagles have an option clause in his contract because he only took a one-year deal in Philly. What should the Skins consider paying for him this time?

The structure and the size of the deal contributed to them not matching it. Sure they had reasons for offering what they offered but that doesn't make it smart.

Paying big money for Coles or Portis isn't a problem in my eyes. At the time they signed, they were already accomplished players despite being only 25 in Coles' case and 22 in Portis' case. They've got plenty of great football left ahead of them, so their performance can justify the big payday. Big paydays shouldn't be going to old guys, like Mark Brunell, Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders, Mark Carrier, guys like that. If they were to pay Muhsin Muhammed a chunk of change I'd lose my lunch. It's the older guys who sign for big bucks and then start their post-prime descent are the salary cap killers.

smootsmack:

I am the one who usually points out that the Skins paid more for Trotter when they signed him than Ray Lewis was making at the time and I still can't believe it. Despite the contribution Trotter made to the Eagles this year, he is NOT NOW and NOT THEN nor will he EVER BE comparable as a LB to Ray Lewis or to several other MLBs in the league. So, to pay him that kind of money WAS dunb and would STILL BE dumb tocay or tomorrow. Remember, Trotter is a free agent again this year unless the Eagles have an option clause in his contract because he only took a one-year deal in Philly. What should the Skins consider paying for him this time?
I honestly don't remember the specifics of the entire situation but plain and simple the market set the price for Trotter at the time. We may have overpaid in hindsight but I am sure we didn't pay him some assanine amount more than he would have gotten from another team. Talent just isn't as big a factor for most teams in the league. They all make decisions based on market versus need. This what we have been doing ever since the Dan bought the team. The successful teams, the ones you list, make their decisions based on talent versus value. Hopefully with free agent plays like Washington last year and letting Smoot go this year the Skins have laerned about the talent versus value strategy.

I honestly don't remember the specifics of the entire situation but plain and simple the market set the price for Trotter at the time. We may have overpaid in hindsight but I am sure we didn't pay him some assanine amount more than he would have gotten from another team. Talent just isn't as big a factor for most teams in the league. They all make decisions based on market versus need. This what we have been doing ever since the Dan bought the team. The successful teams, the ones you list, make their decisions based on talent versus value. Hopefully with free agent plays like Washington last year and letting Smoot go this year the Skins have laerned about the talent versus value strategy.
I agree with you completely.

I honestly don't remember the specifics of the entire situation but plain and simple the market set the price for Trotter at the time. We may have overpaid in hindsight but I am sure we didn't pay him some assanine amount more than he would have gotten from another team. Talent just isn't as big a factor for most teams in the league. They all make decisions based on market versus need. This what we have been doing ever since the Dan bought the team. The successful teams, the ones you list, make their decisions based on talent versus value. Hopefully with free agent plays like Washington last year and letting Smoot go this year the Skins have laerned about the talent versus value strategy.

I don't particularly remember the specifics either. But I think that Trotter was a young two-time all-pro from a division rival who led his team in tackles for three straight years and didn't miss a game since he entered the starting lineup his second year in the league. It didn't work out, what with him busting his knee, but I really don't think it was a bad signing at the time.

At this point in both of their careers I think I'd take Trotter over Lewis. Lewis's career is on the backslope, and if you use Trotter correctly he can be a real force!

Mistakes and busts will happen in football, if you could forsee them all there would be a lot less drama.