Redskins Insider blog shout out to the Warpath

[djnemo65]

Sorry if this has been brought up elsewhere.

Anyway, the newest entry on the WP JLC blog uses the warpath cap sheets to argue its point. Can I get a Crazy Canuck up in here?!?!

Redskins Insider

[SmootSmack]

That's awesome. A lot of sites refer to Canuck's cap sheets. He does phenomenal work.

[djnemo65]

Canuck, when it's all said and done and you are lying on your death bed you will be one of the lucky people who can look back at his life and say, you know what, I was the best in the world at something.

[70Chip]

There is no doubt that The Warpath is the absolute best Redskins site going. Well deserved recognition for the cap junkies.

[dmek25]

canuck, you are the greatest. but how come you don't post more often?

[skinsfan_nn]

Kudos Canuck

[MTK]

Very nice, props to CC

[EARTHQUAKE2689]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Very nice, props to CC

yes props to CC

[Schneed10]

It's no secret, CC is and always will be, my American Idol.

[EARTHQUAKE2689]

Originally Posted by Schneed10

It's no secret, CC is and always will be, my American Idol.

american idol just disapointed me

[jbcjr14]

Very nice!

[MTK]

That was a good guest blog too. What do you think Schneed, is the article pretty accurate?

[Schneed10]

Yeah I read through it, I think it makes a lot of sense. I would even say that the author is erring on the side of saying we'll be more limited than we really will be.

He basically said there's no cap disaster looming, despite the fact that we have $124 million committed in 2008, a year that figures to have a cap of $116 million. But he's right in figuring we'll free ourselves from Brunell (though I'm not sure about his estimate of saving $6.5 million from that, Brunell's contract is going to void but we're still going to have to carry the $3.1 million in accelerated bonuses, so I think we'll only save $3.4 million on Brunell in '08).

He mentions Springs as a possible cut. I think that's definitely possible, but I'd like to point out that it's not necessary. In 2008, we can generate cap room by cutting any of the following guys:

Springs
Marcus Washington
Cornelius Griffin
Casey Rabach
Phillip Daniels
Todd Wade
Ladell Betts (take it easy, won't happen)

We also have the flexibility to restructure or renegotiate contracts for a lot of these players. There are so many directions the team can go, they can afford to evaluate the roster this year and decide who is worth keeping and who is worth jettisoning. The front office's hand should not be forced by the salary cap, they have the ability to shape the team in a number of ways.

Do I think we'll be able to afford signing all the free agents we want? No. But that's a good thing anyway.

Now one thing I'd quibble with the blog's author about is his argument that all teams successfully manage the cap. That's just crazy. Just because you were able to make moves to fit under the cap doesn't mean you've done your team favors. The Ravens dismantled their team in 2001 after their Super Bowl victory for cap reasons, the 49ers are just coming out of several years of being a league bottom feeder because their cap in 1999 - 2001 became too cumbersome, the Titans had to start rebuilding in 2002 and 2003 because of the cap.

One day the Redskins could find themselves in that kind of cap trouble, but so far from what I can tell, they have positioned themselves with enough flexibility to take the team in just about any direction they want in the near future (save for the direction of signing everyone under the sun - which we don't want anyway). The Skins deserve praise for their management of the salary cap.

Now their evaluation of talent? That may need a little work (Archuleta, Lloyd).

[MTK]

Yeah I did think the article glossed over the fact that teams do find themselves in serious cap trouble sometimes. The Raiders of a few years ago and the Titans most recently come to mind.

[Schneed10]

Another point, one thing we've done recently is extend and renegotiate the contracts of our 3 key offensive linemen (Samuels, Jansen, and Randy Thomas). It's clear that the team is completely committed to keeping these guys because they've restructured them to the point that it's impossible to cut them and save any money. The team has financially married themselves to these guys; they've decided that we're going to keep these guys around as Redskins for the long haul. We couldn't save anything by cutting Samuels until 2009, no savings on Jansen until 2010, and no savings on Randy Thomas until 2011.

I'd like to praise the Redskins for that thinking. First, they realize how good these guys are, how hard they work, how important their leadership is, and how high-character they are. The team can feel comfortable that these 3 are going to work hard their whole career and keep delivering year in and year out. But more so, this committment to the offensive line shows that the Redskins' front office understands that a quality offensive line is the backbone of an offense. They seem to understand that without this line, Campbell would have no chance of developing, and Portis and Betts would have no chance of making a big impact for us.

Looking at the contracts can tell you a lot. It tells me that the team knows what it has in Jansen, Samuels, and Randy Thomas, and they love what they see. They want them around for the long haul. The contracts also tell me that they're not sure how to handle the aging defensive players we have (Springs, Washington, Griffin, Daniels). The team has structured their contracts in a way that gives the team flexibility to either keep them or cut them.

The contracts really tell you who the REAL core Redskins are. Samuels, Jansen, and Randy Thomas are right at the top of the list, and I wouldn't have it any other way. There's something about having some serious meat and potatoes at the heart of your team.

PS I heart Randy Thomas.