Positives & Negatives: Coles' release

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Shane

This move by the Redskins to release Coles reflects very well on the organization. You have to be willing to make these decisions and not get attached to the potential of a player when the facts are clear that he has to go - for more than one reason: his drag the team down depression and unhappiness, and his injury that has kept him and may still keep him from playing like he used to be capable of, thus making him overpaid and blocking someone else from being able to develop.

I hope people don't think that Coles' judgment is anything other than a self-centered emotional take on what is going on. I wish Coles the best, but we need "all for one and one for all" guys on this team to be a winner. Coles had 90 catches but that wasn't what he wanted. He didn't have the patience to allow the team to develop offensively. He has his vision of the kind of longer passes he wants to catch - and I don't know if he is frustrated about the way his injuries have limited him and is looking to blame others for that problem.

I agree, good post.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Well put Shane.

[e16bball]

Yeah you hit it on the head Shane...I'm sure the Pats and their fans loved Lawyer Milloy but they made the right move by cutting him. Its just so hard, I think, because no one saw it coming. If we had known for some time that LC was gonna be a cap casualty or something, it wouldve been one thing, but it came so suddenly and unexpectedly. I know I thought he would be in burgundy and gold for 10 more years, and its hard to think about him somewhere else. Its like getting broken up with and being forced to think about your girl messing with other dudes...lol.

[diehardskin2982]

I think Coles is upset with the fact that we don't throw the ball down field. Even when the receivers run good routes, we dump it off to the short guy for minimum yardage. That to me shows major distrust by our coaching staff in what our receivers are capable of.
Imagine if your a Wideout for our team, u get scrutinized for dropping balls, not scoring, being on a team were the media says there is no deep passing threat. It seems the blame for this season have been put majorly on your shoulders. However it wasn't the wideouts fault, they were never given a chance to produce on routes that trully used their talents and had to deal with a qb who couldn't throw through a paper bag over 75% of the season. I know some of you may say 'they dropped alot of balls, but hell how many of you could catch knowing that the route your running has u getting hit by a corner, safety, linebacker, and in some cases athletic dend, how would you feel?
at the most only three of the wideouts go for passes during on play and most of their routes are only 10 yrds down field. Defenses aren't stupid they know were not going to throw it deep so it sets up a suicide mission for the wideouts

I feel that the receivers have been unfarely scutinized for this past season, the coaching staff offensively left those guys hanging out to dry with they're route selection and maybe the receivers don't have faith in the qb starting next season so they want to leave. Everyone else see's how bad our qb's are, except us? why is that? we need some drastic changes and soon. Gibbs need to give the players a chance to shine and give them the routes that use their talents wisely.

[GoSkins!]

Originally Posted by Daseal

It is however possible to restructure Coles to a reasonable contract and trade him - in a way, we have some leverage. He's made his money, and he'll probably take a short contract/paycut to be dealt. If we sign him to a one year deal worth much less could we trade him away without a huge cap hit?

That's what I was talking about earlier. We do have leverage: he is now under contract. We don't have to release him and I just don't believe Coles has it in him to give only 50%. I think he would (and has) threatened to not go out there and play through the pain, toe, finger injuries if he is forced to stay. BUT, I just don't think he could do it. He would have to play, that's his character.

If he wants out now, he needs to be accepting of a way that doesn't hurt the team both player wise and financially. That's fair and I'm sure he knows it. Stay tuned........

[TheMalcolmConnection]

I do agree with half your point but about getting hit when you catch the ball... that's part of your job and I truly hope that isn't what ANY part of what Coles is upset about.

[sportscurmudgeon]

Getting back to the positives and nagatives aspect of the Coles "situation":

Negative: Warpath posters who believed that the Skins had one of the top three receiving crops in the whole NFL last year will need to go on Zoloft presecriptions this winter as Coles and Gardner are shown the door. Under the protective umbrella of Zoloft, these same Warpathers need not feer leaving their fantasy world and should be able to re-enter Earth as it actually exists.

Positive: There is no longer the gamble associated with building the WR corps next year trying to figure out if Coles' toe will be healthy or not. If he is healthy, he'll play well for some other team; if his toe is not healthy, he will consume cap room for some other team. The Skins can now develop a plan without that area of uncertainty.


Oh by the way, before everyone falls all over themselves congragulating the Redskins' organization for resolving this problem, recall thgat Coles also cost the organization a first round pick that went to the Jets. Who did they get with that pick and who might the Sins have gotten with that pick?

[Daseal]

Know anyone I can get a prescription from, SC?

[sportscurmudgeon]

Daseal:


Doctor Strangelove is no longer prescribing.

However, I believe that Doc Holiday did survive the gunfight at the OK Corral...

[TheMalcolmConnection]

Resolving the problem? I wouldn't think it was really the Redskins choice to have him leave considering the potential he once had and still might have. However, I am glad to see that area of uncertainty clear up as well.

[DCopper04]

After thinking about this development for a while, I think there are a few things that the Skins could do. A couple of them may not be very practical, but hey, desperate times call for desperate measures........

A. Keep him. Gibbs might not want to let him go for nothing, and since we don't have the ability to do a whole lot in Free Agency, he figures an unhappy Coles is better than a shitty replacement. He would revisit the situation next offseason when it would be more practical (cap-wise) to give Coles his outright release.

B. Cut him. What right now seems like the most likely option, Gibbs decides that it's not worth having Coles if he doesn't want to play. The repayment of a large portion of the signing bonus would make the cap hit negligible, although we are already snug against the cap as it is. Gibbs will likely fill the void with either Derrick Mason or a draft pick, with Taylor Jacobs filling the #2 spot.

C. Somehow work out a trade. Allow Coles to seek a trade. Let him see what kind of offers he would receive from other teams. If he gets a decent offer from a team he likes, he may be willing to repay part of his bonus in addition to giving the Skins compensation from his new team. This is not likely, but possible.

D. Fuck Coles. His toe injury has debilitated his play the past two years, and he refuses to get surgery. So keep him on the roster. When training camp comes around next season, have the trainers deem him "physically unable to perform," citing the toe injury as the reason. Put him on injury reserve, and recoup the cap space that he would have occupied. Force him to watch from the booth all season. A ruthless move, yes, but it saves valuable cap space that we otherwise would not be able to get. This does not sound like a Gibbs-type move, but in my opinion, if Coles doesn't want to be a Redskin, we shouldn't have to treat him like one.

[dirtbag2112]

As long as LC doesn't go to Dallas I'm cool seeing him play anywhere else.

[TheMalcolmConnection]

I'd be fine with him going to Dallas. Have Sean Taylor lay a nice hit on him similar to the CAP hit he will put on us.

[MTK]

Dallas and Philly are both looking for WR's, I'd hate to see him in either place.

[Daseal]

I bet the Giants look for a receiver too!