Marshall tabbed to replace Pierce

[huntz]

Hate to see Antonio leave. Liked him from the start. But Marshall has shown he can play and who says Barrow can't come back to be the man this year he was supposed to be last season? 'Skins are deep at LB, and might be deeper if they draft one next month.

[monk81]

Originally Posted by Redskins8588

What does this say about Smoot and his asking price if teams like Dallas and Carolina are passing him up? I mean Carolina gave Lucus(SP) almost a small mint and I dont think that he is as good as Smoot is. Even KC is supposed to look at Smoot, but from what I have ben reading you can tell that they really want Rolle.

I thought the same thing Redskin8588 about how strange that Dallas didn't even make a nibble toward Smoot........'course Parcell seems to be partial to signing OLDER guys But now with Carolina signing Lucus,Smoot seems to be ahead at the bargaining table......................

[That Guy]

gotta agree with shane on this one... and i think many of us saw marshal's chance coming in the last couple days. That said, let's get smoot back and draft williams, so i can consider this a great offseason (well, great after watching a preseason game and seeing what a beasst marshall will be at MLB :P)

honestly pierce's statement made it sound like he rather make a name for himself and he did want the money or a chance to emerge as a star instead of a guy who filled in between arrington and washington... before free agency he said the offer would have to blow him away, but apparently our best offer was pretty close, so i wish him the best (he did give us a chance to match, and that's really all you can ask for), but i don't really feel that bad about loing him right now... (if marshall gets injured or plays poorly i might change my mind though).

[FRPLG]

There are few people who would say Lucas is a better corner than Smoot and even fewer who would say Henry is. Both guy git big deals. The Skins offering $10,000,000 as a SB is UNDERPAYING him based on the market. Guess what guys...everything is driven by the market. It seems silly to me to say we should go with less talent just so we can stand on principle or something. What freaking principle? The principle that we think we know how much a CB should cost and we won't pay enough to keep a quality one? That seems remarkably arrogant and doomed to failure. Corner is the highest paid position in the league for a reason. It is the HARDEST position to play and the difference between a good CB and an average CB is tremendous for a defense. We are going to lose a guy simply because we are being hard headed about what we offer him. There IS A WAY to get this done that is suitable for everyone. If there wasn't then the rhetoric from Redskins park would be more to the effect that they just can't afford the guy much like they did with Pierce. They decided he wasn't worth the money the Giants we're going to pay him. If the Skins don't think Smoot is worth what he is seeking then they need to look no further than the recent CB deals to show them they are wrong. Unless of course they think Lucas and Henry are better CBs. In that case then it is reasonable to pay Smoot less in their mind. Otherwise up the ante or get of the game for Smoot. Additinally I haven't seen anywhere that teams are passing Smoot up. He just started taking visits yesterday and both Dallas and Carolina were so in need of a CB that they jumped in early to avoid missing the boat on CBs and over paying even more once a huge market is set. Time to wise up at Redskins park and make a decision whether they really are going to try and resign quality players before our team is a shell next year.

[joecrisp]

There's some sentiment around the league that the cornerback market is overvalued now, due to the impact of the new rules enforcements that were effected last season, which have essentially made "shut-down" corners a thing of the past. The current market value has been inflated by contracts signed by upper-echelon cornerbacks over the past 3 or 4 years, when players such as Ty Law and Champ Bailey-- corners who truly fit the rare "shut-down" label when it was applicable-- signed huge contracts with enormous signing bonuses. While talented cornerbacks are certainly still a valuable commodity, there is a feeling they are no longer as valuable as the "fair market value" would suggest.

Given the way Bailey was burned repeatedly last season, perhaps there is some credence to that theory.

[offiss]

Originally Posted by joecrisp

There's some sentiment around the league that the cornerback market is overvalued now, due to the impact of the new rules enforcements that were effected last season, which have essentially made "shut-down" corners a thing of the past. The current market value has been inflated by contracts signed by upper-echelon cornerbacks over the past 3 or 4 years, when players such as Ty Law and Champ Bailey-- corners who truly fit the rare "shut-down" label when it was applicable-- signed huge contracts with enormous signing bonuses. While talented cornerbacks are certainly still a valuable commodity, there is a feeling they are no longer as valuable as the "fair market value" would suggest.

Given the way Bailey was burned repeatedly last season, perhaps there is some credence to that theory.

Took the word's out of my mouth JC, I do think some of the team's are out thinking themselves believing that they really need a better CB to compete with the new rules, when in actuality no CB can really do that anymore, but they are overpaying for player's who are really not going to make a big difference, as you said there are very few legitimate shutdown CB's, to overpay for a CB who will get burned as much as a lesser talented CB because of the new rules may not be to smart.

[offiss]

I personally am not as high on Marshall as a lot of other's I think we can do better either in the draft or another venue, I do believe if any player on our defense was made to look better than he really is because of William's it was Marshall, I could be wrong but I just think we shouldn't put all our egg's in 1 basket on this guy, I believe we can do much better.

[SkinsRock]

Getting back-ups to step up when needed and promoting from within.....not being afraid to let "star" players go if they become too expensive. Hmmm....that reminds me of someone....oh yeah, the 3-time SB champion Patriots!!! As much as wanted Pierce and Smoot to stay, I really like how Gibbs is managing things.

As for Marshall, it is March! A LOT can happen before the season starts! I see an intense training camp competition between Barrow (if healthy), Marshall, and whoever else could be a good fit at MLB (Barnes, Smith, new rookie, etc). Maybe it will be Marshall, maybe not....I have complete confidence in Coach Williams.

[Schneed10]

Shane, brilliant post. I'm not going to quote it because it was long as hell, but it was well worth reading. Promoting players from within does several things:

1) As Shane said, motivates players to play hard in hopes of one day becoming a starter and earning more cash.

2) Motivates players by providing them the feeling that when they do get promoted, they've earned the respect of the coaching staff and they're teammates.

3) Fosters trust between the players and the coaching staff. They know that if they play hard, they'll be given a fair shot.

4) And when you pay free agents a ton of money, and you don't give your own guys a chance to earn their keep, you create a divide in the locker room. The guys who have paid their dues as Redskins will get jealous of the guys who just came in and got big money.

And after Gregg Williams hit on all of his personnel moves last year, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. If he thinks Marshall can start and play well, then I believe him.

And besides, Williams turned straw into gold last year on defense. I say let him try to do it again, and spend the money upgrading the offense.

[FRPLG]

I agree with Shane in terms of signing Free Agents but when it comes to your own players it seems like it might also be motivational for players to know that their team values them and wants to reward them with a fair market deal rather than low balling them hoping they'll take the financial hit just to stay in the same place. Doing otherwise simply fosters dicontinuity since every player plays his 3 or 4 year contract and then leaves for greener pastures when the Skins low ball 'em. Our fundamental personnel issue has been that we sign too many outside free agents while never teaching and promoting from within. Finally we have a chance to turn that course and we go in a totally wrong direction. I hope I am wrong and we can find quality guys to replace Smoot and Pierce but it is a big gamble to simply assume we can when we know they were quality players for us.

[That Guy]

i saw 3-4 broncos games last year, and champ looked awful in all of them... his tackle count is high cause he lets his receivers catch the ball i guess... every game i saw him fall down on his face. Anyways, I still think we should get smoot signed or look into rolle, but caving 1-3mill on a 6 year deal wouldn't be horrible since this is a really crappy free agency in terms of overall talent available. He hasn't been better than springs, but he's younger and this IS a bad year to be a buyer of talent.

[Monksdown]

Our biggest fault over the last half decade has been our unbridled spending sprees in the offseasons. While it is exciting for fans like us to see the big names sport the burgundy and gold, I am confident in our team president, and coach.

People pretend that Joe Gibbs has no experience dealing with limits on cash flow. This year, Joe Gibbs racing increased size 50% to add another driver in NASCAR. He has built that team from scratch, initially with his own money, and now with his sponsers money. Needless to say, Joe understands the sliding value of money.

And even more importantly, Joe understands talent. We have a very confident, and calm leadership on this team now, and I am content with the change between last offseason, and this one.

It is very common in all sports to look to the top for guidance. So we find ourselves looking at the New England Patriots, who have been making difficult decisions for 5 years now. The same 5 years that we have been overpaying for talent, the patriots have been cutting talent.

My point is, in building a football program, it's not only about risks, its about caution and patience as well. Hail to the Redskins.

[Skinsfanforlife]

Originally Posted by Monksdown

Our biggest fault over the last half decade has been our unbridled spending sprees in the offseasons. While it is exciting for fans like us to see the big names sport the burgundy and gold, I am confident in our team president, and coach.

People pretend that Joe Gibbs has no experience dealing with limits on cash flow. This year, Joe Gibbs racing increased size 50% to add another driver in NASCAR. He has built that team from scratch, initially with his own money, and now with his sponsers money. Needless to say, Joe understands the sliding value of money.

And even more importantly, Joe understands talent. We have a very confident, and calm leadership on this team now, and I am content with the change between last offseason, and this one.

It is very common in all sports to look to the top for guidance. So we find ourselves looking at the New England Patriots, who have been making difficult decisions for 5 years now. The same 5 years that we have been overpaying for talent, the patriots have been cutting talent.

My point is, in building a football program, it's not only about risks, its about caution and patience as well. Hail to the Redskins.

Well put..........I agree

[MTK]

I really like the idea of promoting from within rather than seeking out big named and high priced free agents.

Gibbs definitely has his eye down the road cap wise, and since Marshall filled in very well last year it's a wise decision to give him a crack at starting in the middle. Gotta love his cap # too.

He's a little light at 228, but he could probably add 10 pounds before next season without losing much speed or quickness.

[cpayne5]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

I really like the idea of promoting from within rather than seeking out big named and high priced free agents.

Gibbs definitely has his eye down the road cap wise, and since Marshall filled in very well last year it's a wise decision to give him a crack at starting in the middle. Gotta love his cap # too.

He's a little light at 228, but he could probably add 10 pounds before next season without losing much speed or quickness.

Yeah, AP bulked up quite a bit to play MLB last year. He was about the size of Marshall in past years.