Chatter from NFL Owners' Meeting

JWsleep · 03-30-2004, 09:44 PM

The cap bump is going to help the skins, probably more than other teams. We've got relatively young guys under contract, and they get big payments in 2006/2007. Everyone yells at Snyder, saying the team will implode in 2006, but the cap will increase, and the team will be fine. Then with a few creative resturctures and a few cuts, we can sustain the team by resigning rookies to big deals, getting more FAs, and developing low draft picks/undrafted FAs in Gibbs system.

This can work!

sportscurmudgeon · 03-30-2004, 09:57 PM

JWsleep:

Believe me, I recognize that the "cap bump" in 06/07 has been a big part of the Redskins' planning process over the past year or so. And it will make the team able to keep many of the players they signed to long term deals. Here are my worries anyhow:

1. Injuries. You can't predict them. You can't plan for them. You can't be afraid to sign players to big deals because they might generate lots of "dead money" because of injuries because if you do that you'll never have anything more than a glorified college All-Star team. But if Clinton Portis gets hurt and his injury turns him into a an "average RB", the damage will be a whole lot more than just an injury to a RB.

2. The wrong players. Some players never turn out to be the "'foundation players" they were envisioned to be. Case in point is Jeremiah Trotter who signed with the Skins for MORE money than Ray Lewis was making at the time. I don't care if you bleed burgandy and piss gold, if you think that Jeremiah Trotter was worth more than Ray Lewis as a linebacker two seasons ago, you were hallucinating. So, let's hope that Shawn Springs and LaVar Arrington prove to be worth the investment in them. Oh yeah, Mark Brunell too.

3. Internal "strife". One of the hallmarks of Joe Gibbs in the 1980s was that when a player became an internal distraction he got cut immediately. That is one of the reasons why there were rarely any dissention issues on the teams then. There were no cap issues or dead money implications then; there are now.

JWsleep · 03-30-2004, 10:21 PM

Good points as usual, SC. But at least it's not certain cap hell, like many commentators have made it out.

Concerning injuries, that a risk all teams take,though the FA heavy teams expose themselves to it the most. Imagine if Manning goes down, or more likely Kearse. Still, we've got risk there.

As for locker room stuff/ "wrong players", Gibbs and co. will probably find more ways to keep it under control. He's a great manager of personalities, so he'll probably find a way short of cutting folks if he can. And Gibbs will back his team leaders in a way that should help them keep order. And Gibbs can motivate with the best of them.

We shall see!

03-30-2004, 09:44 PM	#1
JWsleep Propane and propane accessories Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Houston, TX Age: 56 Posts: 4,719	The cap bump is going to help the skins, probably more than other teams. We've got relatively young guys under contract, and they get big payments in 2006/2007. Everyone yells at Snyder, saying the team will implode in 2006, but the cap will increase, and the team will be fine. Then with a few creative resturctures and a few cuts, we can sustain the team by resigning rookies to big deals, getting more FAs, and developing low draft picks/undrafted FAs in Gibbs system. This can work! __________________ Hail from Houston!

03-30-2004, 09:57 PM	#2
sportscurmudgeon Playmaker Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 3,159	JWsleep: Believe me, I recognize that the "cap bump" in 06/07 has been a big part of the Redskins' planning process over the past year or so. And it will make the team able to keep many of the players they signed to long term deals. Here are my worries anyhow: 1. Injuries. You can't predict them. You can't plan for them. You can't be afraid to sign players to big deals because they might generate lots of "dead money" because of injuries because if you do that you'll never have anything more than a glorified college All-Star team. But if Clinton Portis gets hurt and his injury turns him into a an "average RB", the damage will be a whole lot more than just an injury to a RB. 2. The wrong players. Some players never turn out to be the "'foundation players" they were envisioned to be. Case in point is Jeremiah Trotter who signed with the Skins for MORE money than Ray Lewis was making at the time. I don't care if you bleed burgandy and piss gold, if you think that Jeremiah Trotter was worth more than Ray Lewis as a linebacker two seasons ago, you were hallucinating. So, let's hope that Shawn Springs and LaVar Arrington prove to be worth the investment in them. Oh yeah, Mark Brunell too. 3. Internal "strife". One of the hallmarks of Joe Gibbs in the 1980s was that when a player became an internal distraction he got cut immediately. That is one of the reasons why there were rarely any dissention issues on the teams then. There were no cap issues or dead money implications then; there are now. __________________ The Sports Curmudgeon www.sportscurmudgeon.com But don't get me wrong, I love sports...

03-30-2004, 10:21 PM	#3
JWsleep Propane and propane accessories Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Houston, TX Age: 56 Posts: 4,719	Good points as usual, SC. But at least it's not certain cap hell, like many commentators have made it out. Concerning injuries, that a risk all teams take,though the FA heavy teams expose themselves to it the most. Imagine if Manning goes down, or more likely Kearse. Still, we've got risk there. As for locker room stuff/ "wrong players", Gibbs and co. will probably find more ways to keep it under control. He's a great manager of personalities, so he'll probably find a way short of cutting folks if he can. And Gibbs will back his team leaders in a way that should help them keep order. And Gibbs can motivate with the best of them. We shall see! __________________ Hail from Houston!

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