2010 Free Agents

I just want the Cowboys to lose so I can enjoy the playoffs and Super Bowl.

I just want the Cowboys to lose so I can enjoy the playoffs and Super Bowl.

Ditto. I'm glad New England was sent home.

Why are we looking at a free agent list? I thought the Redskins had changed their ways. Going after high priced free agents is not the way to go. Develop from within, build through the draft. That should be the new mantra!

I just want the Cowboys to lose so I can enjoy the playoffs and Super Bowl.
I'm with you. I can't stomach seeing the Cowboys advance. My wife asked me, "Who do you want to win the Superbowl"? I told her, I like the Ravens in the AFC but I don't like any of the teams in the NFC. All I know, I don't want to see the Cowboys. I will turn the TV off.

Why are we looking at a free agent list? I thought the Redskins had changed their ways. Going after high priced free agents is not the way to go. Develop from within, build through the draft. That should be the new mantra!

bruce allen has always preferred veteran players. in tampa bay, he was limited in his ability to sign "high priced" free agents because the ownership was very frugal. Allen has already gone on record saying the #1 reason he feels he will have success here (where others like Gibbs and Shottenheimer have failed) is the uncapped year. We have every reason to expect a very large number of aging veterans to make up our 2010 roster.

While this is certainly not a way to build long-term success, it shouldnt "kill" us the way snyders spending sprees did in the past for atleast 2 reasons i can think of: 1) Bruce Allen, while having a thoroughly unimpressive draft history, is known for keeping his draft picks. he won't trade draft picks for old players. rather, he'll sign the best of the free agent class. 2) since 2010 will be uncapped, any contracts signed can be "front-loaded" to ensure the skins have plenty of room if/when a salary cap is reinstated.

Found this about what the Redskins needs are this offseason...pretty good short summary of the team and I really agree about what they say about the offense

Washington Redskins: OT, QB, SLB, RB, OG, C

Considering the direction the team was headed a few years ago, moving in an offensive direction with a 1st round quarterback and expensive free agent acquisitions, the defense is the unit ready to compete on a weekly basis. The Skins have done a nice job acquiring defensive talent – through free agency and the draft – and have put together above average unit that plays the run and pass fairly well. They have some concerns at safety and at strongside linebacker, but those are the only real areas of weakness. Brian Orakpo did a nice job playing the latter before moving to defensive end later in the year, his natural position. On offense, the Redskins must first improve the offensive line before they can even begin to address the quarterback situation. Campbell is an average quarterback, but not a terrific leader and not capable of making plays behind such a porous offensive line. Both tackle positions needs to be addressed. Chris Samuels will decide his future in February after suffering a serious neck injury that forced him to the Injured Reserve. Even with Samuels, they need a future to look forward to at left tackle. At right tackle, Stephon Heyer ranks near the bottom of the league as a starter. At right guard, Mike Williams has played better than expected, but is not a great pass blocker. Center Casey Rabach is also having a bad year. To make matters worse, the many miles on Clinton Portis may finally be catching up to him as he approaches the frightening age of 30, leaving running back as another position of necessity. He’s scheduled to make an average of over $8 million per year over the next four, which would mean he’s going to need to produce, restructure, or face the axe in the upcoming years.

I'm with you. I can't stomach seeing the Cowboys advance. My wife asked me, "Who do you want to win the Superbowl"? I told her, I like the Ravens in the AFC but I don't like any of the teams in the NFC. All I know, I don't want to see the Cowboys. I will turn the TV off.


If you lived in or around B-more yo uwould be cheering for the Ravens to lose. Other then last weekends playoff game the Ravens have been spurting along. the Colts are much better then the Pats this year.

Ravens go down next week. Cowboys are looking like they are head to the NFC championship.

If you lived in or around B-more yo uwould be cheering for the Ravens to lose. Other then last weekends playoff game the Ravens have been spurting along. the Colts are much better then the Pats this year.

Ravens go down next week. Cowboys are looking like they are head to the NFC championship.
That would make me sick. In that case I would not be watching much football. Thank God the college basketball season is in full swing.

Why are we looking at a free agent list? I thought the Redskins had changed their ways. Going after high priced free agents is not the way to go. Develop from within, build through the draft. That should be the new mantra!

What fails is bad utilization of available resources. Though I hate referencing other teams, I will do it now for examples only.

When Randy Moss signed with New England, they signed him to a reasonable contract, and no ridiculous trade value = Win for the Patriots

When Oakland signed Wilfork, they gave up future picks, and took on a heavy contract = loss for the Raiders (win for Pats longterm by gaining valuable picks)

When Asante Samuels left the Pats, the Eagles took him on to fill a specific need at a reasonable cost = win for the Eagles.

those are the types of wins we want to see in FA, if they are out there, and the type of losses we want to avoid going forward. Building a successful NFL team does not mean ignoring ANY potential player, but evaluating and getting solid team players at an acceptable cost. And I would note that acceptable cost is different for each team, we should have an acceptable upfront cash(not longterm cash) cost that is higher than most teams which gives us an advantage in the FA market, but we also should have a lower acceptable trade cost than many teams -meaning we should be stingier than most teams in trading away picks because our team, specifically the OL needs a lot of young blood to build longterm- so we should not be looking at restricted FA's very much.

Bottomline:
in FA market we should be moderate buyers this year,
in the RFA market we should be heavy sellers, seeking draft picks for compensation.
and in the Draft, we should be open trade partners, seeking best possible positioning, either by trading down or up in the later rounds to get the young players for the OL, and if a qb is there that MS/BA wants.

one side note outside of this, I would get Josh Cribbs if he comes available, and give serious consideration to whatever the trade terms are.

I didnt Richard Seymore will be an unrestricted free agent. If we switch to a 3-4 defense, he'd be worth picking up.