[Oakland Red]

Yes, we haven't blown up the roster by any means, so that is a superficial judgment, but it does seem like Pasquarelli is saying some positive things here - that we have a "genius" for cap management, and that we might win a Super Bowl.

People are awfully hard on Pasquarelli, and it seems like he may have taken it personally at times and it may have biased some of his statements about the Redskins. However, what difference do his or any reporter's opinions about the team really make? I would rather win a Super Bowl and be criticized than to have all the reporters think the Redskins are the greatest but we end up in the cellar.

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/column...len&id=2368074

I like his comment about the roster being "blown up" in each of the last 2 years, nothing like stretching the truth just a tad.



Oh, Danny, yoi: For weeks leading up to free agency, owners around the league whispered that it was mathematically impossible for the Washington Redskins to get under the salary cap, and they chortled that fraternity brother Dan Snyder would not be able to continue his free-spending ways. Yet three days into free agency, the Redskins have added wide receivers Antwaan Randle El and Brandon Lloyd, tight end Christian Fauria, defensive end Andre Carter and safety Archuleta.

So, either Washington contracts manager Eric Schaffer is a genius or Snyder has found a way to circumvent the cap. Seems it must be the former, since none of the legion of the team officials who keep wondering privately how the Redskins are able to add players -- and who complain to the media about Washington's laxity in turning in contracts to the league -- apparently has the gumption to raise the issue with the NFL Management Council. Give Snyder, whose team is a veritable mint, credit for this: He's terrible at reading a blueprint but great at doling out the long green.

In each of the last two springs, Snyder has vowed publicly that the roster he has assembled will represent the Redskins' team for three years. Then the inevitable occurs. Washington doesn't win a Super Bowl, the roster is blown up and Snyder goes back to the vault for another free-agent spending spree. One of these years, paying out all that money actually might pay off in a championship.

Big investments in small return men: There are a lot of people in the NFL who like Randle El but believe that he is just a No. 3 wide receiver and that his biggest contribution comes as a return man. If that's the case, the Redskins shelled out a lot of Snyder's cash for a punt returner. Unless, of course, you buy the joke making the rounds -- that Randle El, who threw a touchdown pass to Hines Ward on a reverse in Super Bowl XL and who played quarterback at Indiana, owns the best arm on the Redskins' roster, by default.