Remember your first job? It was probably low pay with the crummiest tasks, and you loved it. There are days I’d go back to cooking in that restaurant in a heartbeat if they’d raise my old salary from $2.20 hourly.
Nowadays, you’re making decent dough without picking up trash. Life isn’t bad, but going to work every day lacks the same spark of your early days in the workforce.
And therein lies one of the Washington Redskins’ problems. The front office’s inability to build through the draft robs the organization of any true lust for the game. In a modern blood sport, complacency among veterans means everyone is pointing thumbs down on your effort.
Redskins owner Dan Snyder loves flaunting his money. Everyone in the NFL knows this is where you get paid. So why isn’t the team getting a trophy for its money much like the New York Yankees? Because once there is real coin in your pocket, especially after several years in the league, that real desire is not there for many players.
One former Redskins official told me the reason many fringe players disappear after a few years is they quit working as hard. Suddenly, the next young kid is wearing their jersey. Think Clubber Lang doing those chin-ups while Rocky was cutting commercials. Mr. T showed who was the fool.
So am I saying the Redskins are dogging it? Absolutely not. Unfortunately, big money turns players into businessmen in a sport where you have to smack somebody to win. Businessmen who act with that level of abandonment often get indicted, but teams playing that way often win.
The great Redskins teams under Joe Gibbs were largely built through the draft. The current roster has 14 draft choices. Seven play prominent roles. That’s not even close to acceptable.
The Redskins drafts under Snyder have largely been busts, especially the later rounds. Snyder doesn’t know what he’s doing in the war room and anyone who thinks the owner doesn’t still have input is delusional. And whenever Gibbs retires, this organization will suffer a major setback unless Snyder gets a real general manager instead of playing roto-ball himself. Gibbs is the only reason the Redskins are no longer the joke of the NFL.
Free agency was intended to plug gaps, not become the foundation. Instead, Snyder sees it as his way of being involved and showing how rich he is. Psst … Danny … it’s not about who has the most money. It’s about being the smartest one in the room.
The Redskins need a real general manager. A Bobby Beathard or Charley Casserley who worked with Gibbs to create young, talented teams. Remember, only six players (four Hogs) were on all three Super Bowl champions so the GMs were constantly upgrading talent. Snyder admits he shouldn’t have fired Casserley in 1999. Why not make amends now that Casserley is a free agent?
Snyder needs to spend his next fortune on a personnel genius that can restock without relying on free agency. Then, give the GM the same control Beathard carried. Marty Schottenheimer held that power and was gone in a year despite finishing 8-3 because You-Know-Who wanted to run the front office.
Meanwhile, Dr. Phil should have skipped the Nationals game on Wednesday to speak to the Redskins. Releasing the inner player within the helmets. Otherwise, the season will end up another tax write-off for Snyder and a disappointment for fans.
