Did We Shoot Ourselves In The Foot??

[Tahoe Skin]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

EXACTLY! Coles authored this...neither the front office nor Joe Gibbs wanted Coles to leave. The only one who wanted him to leave was Coles himself. What are we supposed to do? Keep Coles against his will?

You just don't let the mutineers run the ship!

And if we did want to let him have what he wanted, why didn't we insist on renegotiating his contract to lessen the hit?

Just hard to figure.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Tahoe Skin

You just don't let the mutineers run the ship!

And if we did want to let him have what he wanted, why didn't we insist on renegotiating his contract to lessen the hit?

Just hard to figure.

So you'd rather keep an unhappy player around and let him potentially become a locker room distraction down the road, if he isn't already?

Some players have already voiced their opinion that if a player doesn't want to be here he should leave. Those players that feel that way probably wouldn't be likely to warm up to Coles after this mess and it would just simmer in the back of their minds.

Nobody wants to go into battle with someone who isn't playing for the right reasons.

[Tahoe Skin]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

So you'd rather keep an unhappy player around and let him potentially become a locker room distraction down the road, if he isn't already?

Some players have already voiced their opinion that if a player doesn't want to be here he should leave. Those players that feel that way probably wouldn't be likely to warm up to Coles after this mess and it would just simmer in the back of their minds.

Nobody wants to go into battle with someone who isn't playing for the right reasons.

Yes, rather than screw up my ability to sign 2, 3 or 4 other quality players, I would rather keep an unhappy player around and let him potentially become a locker room distraction down the road.

Winning changes player attitudes!

And players can police themselves.

I would even lock him out if it got bad, rather than screw up my cap space.

[htownskinfan]

were talking like this trade has gone through,am I the only one worried Coles wont pass his physical because of his toe? if he doesnt,man were screwed,then we have a receiver who doesnt want to be here with a bad toe,personally,I wish Coles wanted to play here,he was my favorite redskin last yr,I thought he made some great catches and took some viscous hits but was always ready to play

[djdunick]

This really was a no win situation. If they keep Coles they have a disgruntled poison in the locker room. To get rid of him we take the hit now and can't afford probably to resign Smoot. On the other hand our offense needed more fixing then the defense.

DJDunick

[Tahoe Skin]

Originally Posted by htownskinfan

were talking like this trade has gone through,am I the only one worried Coles wont pass his physical because of his toe? if he doesnt,man were screwed,then we have a receiver who doesnt want to be here with a bad toe,personally,I wish Coles wanted to play here,he was my favorite redskin last yr,I thought he made some great catches and took some viscous hits but was always ready to play

Oh My God! Please let Coles fail his toe test, so we can undo this stupid trade!

[celts32]

Originally Posted by Tahoe Skin

Oh My God! Please let Coles fail his toe test, so we can undo this stupid trade!

Jets are not going to fail his toe. Even with a bad toe he is better than Moss. this trade is a done deal...

[dirtbag2112]

LC did not want to play for a hall of fame coach.

LC opted not to have surgery on his foot which could affect the rest of his career.

LC would only return a part of his signing bonus if released (for no value.)

I think we made the right move!

[CRT3]

It actually helps our cap situation for 2006. We do not have the burden of his contract and with a few more moves we will be under that cap number as well. Also since there really is no cap for 2007 they have put us in a great situation (Snyder, Gibbs, and Cerrato). Get rid of the selfish players and keep the team players. How do you see this seriously affecting our cap space this year and next?

[RedskinRat]

Even Wilds wouldn't be a drop off in our secondary. Williams is a genius, the players totally buy into the scheme.

Smoot or not,we're set on D.

[BrudLee]

I understand the frustration - IMO we did the best we could. Compare with McCardell and the Bucs last year. They reach a stalemate - McCardell wouldn't play, and the team didn't want to outright cut him. He was inactive until the deadline, when Tampa got a 3rd and a 6th from the Chargers (who did well enough that those are low picks). Clearly the Bucs didn't get equal value. They also got nothing in 2004.

We also didn't get equal value. Santana isn't the WR Coles is. He does, however, return punts well, and has 15 touchdowns in the last two years. He isn't a stiff, and he will have the full training camp to work with his new teammates.

[Schneed10]

Gibbs' philosophy is we want players who take pride in being a Redskin and buy into what we're trying to accomplish. He wants to see a united team with a lot of heart and character; and he knows that keeping Coles would only act as a dividing force amongst the players.

Gibbs also wants to develop trust and respect between the players and the coaches. He wants players to trust him that when he says he will try to accomodate a request to leave the team, he will follow through on it. Both Gardner and Coles wanted out, so he's making accomodations. That does wonders in showing the team that Coach Gibbs is a man of his word, and he'll treat the players with respect.

Also, Gibbs is big on creating a team with long-term stability, he wants to be able to keep a group of guys together for a while. With the way the team stood with Coles on the books in 2006, he probably realized that he'd have to make some cuts anyway. And since he cut Coles this year, he has increased his chances at keeping the rest of the team's core together (Portis, Jansen, Ramsey, Samuels, Springs, R Thomas, Arrington, S Taylor, M Washington etcetera).

Think of it this way, I'd rather lose the "core player" right now who doesn't want to be here, than lose a core player in 2006 who does want to be here.

We're finally building a team environment with some continuity and stability, instead of Dan Snyder's fantasy football team. I know there is a downside with the salary cap this year, but I think we'll see a benefit coming from the intangibles deparment.

[BrudLee]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

Think of it this way, I'd rather lose the "core player" right now who doesn't want to be here, than lose a core player in 2006 who does want to be here.

Thank you, sir. I have a new signature.

[celts32]

My problem with this trade is that we did not get enough in return to justify this cap hit. The skins would have been better served getting Coles to forfeit the 5 mil bonus in exchange for his release. I think that 5 mil in cap space was more valuable than Moss.

[Redskins_P]

Can you imagine how much crap we would've gotten if we kept Coles, and he sat out the whole year (a la McCardell)?

I can already hear it

"Redskins made a huge mistake by keeping Coles instead of trading or cutting him the offseason"

"Why pay a guy who wasn't going to play for you"


We're always going to be criticized for every move we make.

Thats why we need to start winning some games to shut all the haters up.