Aside from 2000, Snyder's Handled Free Agency Well

[Sheriff Gonna Getcha]

Sports "experts," like Len Pastabelly, rip into Snyder every chance they get. It's funny that those very same "experts," who now rip Snyder for his 2000 free agent spending spree, are the very same "experts" who predicted that the Redskins would win the Super Bowl in 2000.

It's true that Snyder made a huge blunder in the 2000 off-season by pursuing big-name, but aging, free agents. But, he was an eager, rookie owner who wanted to get his team to the Super Bowl by any means. Should we blame him for inexperience and a strong desire to see his team win? It's also true that Snyder fired Norv Turner, but can anyone honestly blame him for firing Turner?

Moreover, in 2001 Snyder left that free-spending attitude behind. In fact, he left personnel decisions to Marty.

In 2002, Snyder largely left personnel decisions to Steve Spurrier and Marvin Lewis. Hiring Spurrier and Lewis was declared a stroke of genius by Snyder (compensating for prematurely firing Marty). Moreover, Snyder once again took a back seat and let his coaching staff fill the roster with unknowns like Shane Matthews and Danny Woeful. Furthermore, Snyder didn't turn over the coaching staff despite the team's 7-9 record.

In 2003, with the coaching staff largely intact, Snyder went after big-name and high priced free agents Laveranues Coles and Randy Thomas, while letting Daryl Gardener walk. Letting Gardner walk was a great decision, Thomas has played very well, and despite his recent attitude "problems," Coles has performed like the true #1 wideout Snyder said he was.

Critics said we overpaid for Coles, but didn't say the Falcons overpaid for Peerless Price. Yet look at Coles' and Price's stats, Price hasn't done squat since leaving the Bills while Coles is a Pro-Bowler.

It's true Snyder overpaid for Chad Morton, but it's not like we broke the bank for the guy - we only gave him a $1.5 million signing bonus. And Noble hasn't lived up to expectations, but Snyder didn't rupture Noble's ACL and Noble wasn't exactly an overpriced free agent.

Yes after the 2003 season, Spurrier walked, but that wasn't Snyder's fault. Snyder never called for Spurrier's head and almost everyone rightly believes that it was Spurrier, not Snyder, who decided that a head coaching change was needed.

In the 2004 offseason, Snyder got players like Washington, Springs, Portis, and Griffin. Yes, Snyder got Brunell and Barrow. But many experts thought Brunell was a good, if overpaid, addition (hence, ESPN's selection of Brunell as the major disappointment of the season) and we didn't pay give Barrow a huge signing bonus ($2.5 million). Moreover, Snyder oversaw a team that drafted Sean Taylor and Chris Cooley. Finally, Snyder managed to get Gibbs back......just a tiny, itty, bitty success.

This offseason, Snyder hasn't repeated his mistakes of 2000. He's not going to make big-name free agent splashes. He's going to keep the coaching staff intact. So why does he get so much criticism?

I don't think he deserves it and I think it's time for us fans to give him a break that the "experts" won't.