The Washington Redskins returned to work on Monday. It wasn’t such a short offseason given they took most of the fall off, too.
The Redskins are usually the Darlings of Downtime. But this offseason has been oddly quiet. There has been more movement in the Fed’s interest rates than Redskins free agency lately.
The old axiom is seasons are won in the offseason weight room. But “voluntary” — as in voluntary if you want to keep your job — workouts were missing a few players as part of a kinder, gentler Joe Gibbs policy. Some players asked to work out near their offseason homes instead of returning to Washington. They said it would keep them fresher. After a 5-11 season, Gibbs was exasperated enough to try anything.
Was it a good move to give in to players trying to goof off in the offseason while understanding no one can really make them workout? There’s no real answer.
Marty Schottenheimer ran a boot camp in 2001 and started 0-5. Gibbs operated Club Med last year and opened 1-4.
At year’s end, if a team is successful then the offseason and training camp programs were run wisely. If a team loses, everything is second guessed.
Gibbs is headed into year four of five in his second coming and fans are restless. Sandwiching a 10-6 season with 6-10 and 5-11 has long-time supporters wondering if Gibbs’ magic vanished during his 11-year retirement. Because the Redskins need a better preseason and regular-season start, Gibbs is willing to rest players more this offseason in hopes of going full speed during a longer training camp.
Mostly, players work out at Redskins Park regularly because of hefty bonuses. While some argue players earn millions and should work year-round in Ashburn, a fair counter argument is everyone has vacation time and if they want to spend it away that’s their right.
Voluntary workout participation rates are a smokescreen to the team’s real problems — lack of talent and a young quarterback. Getting a few playmakers in the draft and free agency and quarterback Jason Campbell learning the playbook are the most important facets over coming months.
Meanwhile, look for players having milkshakes at Johnny Rockets and heading to Six Flags. Dan Snyder has to make money somehow in the offseason. That is, unless he installs a pay-per view on Redskins.com showing the weight room.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
